Grant allows fifth-graders to give to those in need

Students in Kristen McCready's fifth-grade class at Fairfield Middle School made 'busy bags” full of toys and games that they will donate to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.

McCready applied for and received a $250 grant from Project Jack, a program through the REALTOR Foundation of Iowa that helps people in need. The program is named after Jack Lindaman, a spirited Quad-City boy who encouraged positivity in everyone around him, despite his health problems. Jack died in 2010 at age 6 from spinal muscular atrophy, which according to curesma.org, is a disease that robs a person of physical strength by affecting the motor nerve cells in the spiral cord, taking away their ability to walk, eat and breath.

With funds from his memorial, the Lindamans gave each child in Jack's class $100 to pay it forward in whatever way they chose. The REALTOR Foundation of Iowa expanded the program to include the entire state, and has invited fourth- and fifth-grade teachers to apply for $250 grants.

'My class discussed what it means to ‘pay it forward,' and I challenged them to come up with different ideas as to how we could use the money for someone else's gain,” McCready said. 'I received about 10 suggestions, and even a few from parents! We voted on our favorites, and came up with ‘busy bags.'”

On Friday, McCready's class assembled the bags by filling them with toys and games, for both boys and girls, young and old.

'We looked for STEM activities that will help the children at the hospital pass the time,” McCready said.

The gifts included Mickey Mouse and Toy Story books, adult coloring books, markers, colored pencils, Slinkies, brain teasers, 3-D puzzles, a slime kit and Sudoku puzzles. The class assembled 52 busy bags in all. McCready will deliver them to the children's hospital in the next couple of weeks.