The Chautauqua Lake Central School district’s Child and Family Wellness classes received two, $500 grants to provide resources for two local agencies. Rachael Swan and Leah Stow, both teachers at Chautauqua Lake, collaborated to successfully apply for the grant award opportunities through the Community Foundation for their students.

As a result of the grant funding, Chautauqua Lake Central School students were given the opportunity to complete two projects for Prevention Works and the local police department.

“We have long standing partnerships with both Prevention Works and the Sheriffs Department, and through the years they have provided our district with a host of meaningful tools, resources and educational experiences that help our students make healthy life choices,” Dr. Josh Liddell, superintendent, said.

“It is great to see our students working together to give back to these two agencies, and in turn, hopefully help some families and kids in our community.”

Pictured are items that were included in the activity bags put together by Rachel Swan’s Child and Family Wellness classes at Chautauqua Lake Central School.

Swan said her first class was given the task of creating activity bags with “developmentally appropriate activities” for children of various ages and stages of development. Students filled each of the bags with games, puzzles, crafts, cookbooks and other activities to encourage parents to spend “quality time” with their children. Once the activity bags were put together by Chautauqua Lake Central School students, the bags were donated to Prevention Works to be distributed to parents who attend parenting classes at Prevention Works.

Swan explained that her second class was responsible for putting together 15 kits to be donated to the local police department. Students had to consider various factors such as safety, cleanliness, and maintenance, for activity kits that officers could use in their interactions with children and teenagers. Some of the items the students included in the kits were coloring books, pop-it balls, fidget toys and kaleidoscopes.

“Throughout both of these activities, the students were able to use their knowledge of developmentally appropriate activities for the mind and body to make wonderful activity bags for both agencies,” Swan said. “They spent time researching and prioritizing the best and most efficient ways to use the grant money and they did a fabulous job. We are grateful for the chance to give back to groups that support our county and want to say thank you to the Community Foundation for providing us the opportunity.”

Following the completion of the projects, students were given the opportunity to reflect on the importance of giving back to the community by answering questions in groups.

The students shared that the projects will help encourage local families to spend time with their children and will provide the resources needed to “create memories” through fun activities.

Pictured are Rachel Swan’s Child and Family Wellness students.

Students explained that they were made aware of the level of support parents in the community need through their community project assignments. The students said they were “grateful” for the opportunity to help the community by providing families with some support.

“Many other people in the world struggle and need help, and when you can give help, it feels good,” they said.

In addition to the recent community projects, Swan’s students also have had opportunities to work with kindergarten and first-grade students through their Child and Family Wellness classes. The interaction with younger students has helped the older students learn about child development and how to best interact with children.

“I am incredibly proud and grateful for the hard work and creativity of our students,” Rachel Curtin, secondary principal, said. “Their efforts have made a real difference in the lives of families and children in our community, and it is truly inspiring to see them giving back and connecting with community partners in such a meaningful way.”