Local News - February 2003

Candy wrapper campaign to help Special Olympics

By JEREMY ASHTON, LTN Staff Writer

February 5, 2003 - IRON STATION — Elizabeth Carpenter’s third graders at Iron Station Elementary School are trying to make a big difference in Special Olympics with a lot of little candy.

Through the end of March, Carpenter’s class is heading up a school-wide effort to collect M&M’s wrappers marked with the words “Find All Gold.”

Iron Station’s candy wrapper campaign is part of a national project established by M&M’s to support Special Olympics. For each wrapper it receives from a state, M&M’s will donate 50 cents to that state’s program for athletes attending the 2003 World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland.

M&M’s is keeping track of each state’s contribution on its web site, awarding gold, silver and bronze medals depending on how many wrappers are submitted. Carpenter’s students have set an ambitious goal of getting a bronze medal for North Carolina — 10,000 wrappers — with the support of their classmates.

“The character word for February is ‘caring,’ and so we’re demonstrating caring,” Carpenter said.

To encourage other students at Iron Station to contribute, the third graders are running a competition, rewarding the class that brings in the most wrappers with an ice cream party.

The students are also designing bags and posters promoting the project that will be placed in convenience stores near the school to encourage community members to drop off their empty wrappers.

While her students continue their work, Carpenter is trying to get local businesses to donate enough $20 boxes of M&M’s so that every class can have at least one.

Carpenter said anyone who wants to donate wrappers can mail them to her at Iron Station or bring them by the school.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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