Wilton Kids Give Back, Five Cents At A Time

Allow me to brag a little bit about my son and his friends.

This group of six kids, all under 10 years old, just donated $500 to the Wilton Education Foundation.

It’s certainly not because we’re the Moneybags (we’re nowhere close), and despite the shaggy blonde hair resemblance, he’s no Richie Rich. He didn’t dig into his pockets and whip out the kiddie checkbook and dash off the donation like it was just an everyday, blasé thing.

Actually, my son and his friends spent the better part of last year starting a true grass-roots effort to do their part and pitch in to help Wilton’s schools. Knowing what benefit they get from their teachers and the school community each day, they wanted to do something to help give back and help contribute to the strength of the district.

They created Bottled Up! for Wilton Schools, a group that collects plastic bottles and aluminum cans and recycles them for the return deposit change. They’ve worked hard all year, collecting bottles and learning about organizing a community effort. They’ve participated in the , and they collected recyclables left over after Ambler Farm Day.

Along the way, they’ve learned about opening a bank account in order to safely collect the money they’re raising. They’ve brainstormed and made presentations to other (more grown-up) community organizations and boards to explain what they’re doing. They’re coming up with ways to recruit other students to their cause. And they’re learning about giving back through hard work and volunteer effort.

Just last week, Bottled Up! made their $500 donation to the Wilton Education Foundation during WEF’s board meeting. In one year, the kids actually raised more than that amount, but they thought $500 was a great way to start the school year off right. You know, $500 is a lot of bottles and cans—in fact, it’s 10,000 of 'em.

Bottled Up! is now an official part of the Wilton Education Foundation, as a sanctioned, student-led fundraiser. The kids will be working with school administrators and teachers in order to start Bottled Up! efforts at each of Wilton’s four schools. They’ll be recruiting new members and figuring out fun ways to get more students to pitch in and help raise more funds, five cents at a time.

The adults who accepted the donation certainly sat up and took notice, and they were thrilled about the generation that’s coming up in the community willing to do their part.

Wilton schools’ superintendent Dr. Gary Richards told me, “These six students had a vision for their project and they worked hard to make their vision a reality.  Their commitment speaks to their concern for our world and a belief in the importance of giving back to their community. At a very early age, they have learned about the value of protecting our environment while also supporting our schools.”

Kit Smith, chairman of WEF was similarly impressed: “The Wilton Education Foundation is extremely grateful for the $500 donation from Bottled Up! I knew they were collecting bottles, but I never had any idea that six 8 and 9 year olds could collect that many bottles in one year. This shows tremendous motivation, effort and downright hard work to be able to pull this off. We really appreciate what they have done!”

The six current members are definitely looking for other kids to get involved. If you have a child in the Wilton school system that would like to participate, visit the Bottled Up! for Wilton schools Facebook page or get in touch by email.

There’s no better reason than something the kids said as part of their presentation to the WEF board:  “We love our schools, and we want to do all we can to help students like us and those that come after us succeed. We’re happy to do this to say, ‘Thank you’ for all that Wilton schools do for us.”