Hominy Valley Elementary (HVE) families take pride in fostering a strong community atmosphere with a focus on giving.
First grader Lane Grace embodied that giving spirit recently when he sold more than 250 cupcakes and used the proceeds to buy 55 books for the media center. Friends, family members, and neighbors jumped at the fundraising idea. Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville helped Lane’s family find durable, hardcover books, and the store sold them at a discount.
“He has a huge heart,” said his mother, Chelsea Grace. “He’s always thinking about other people.”
It all started when Lane asked his parents an odd question, how to print money.
“We asked ‘what would you do with it?’ and he said he would do something for the school,” Ms. Grace said. “Then he said he wanted more money for the library. It was pretty cute. We asked him for ideas about a fundraiser and he came up with cupcakes. A lot of neighbors ordered cupcakes, and we came up with a list of books and got it approved through the school. Malaprop’s found as many hardbacks as they could and got them ordered. It was fun for the whole family to watch it happen from the start, making the cupcakes, delivering them, getting the books, and delivering them to the school.”
Lane’s idea coincided with a canned food drive that brought in thousands of cans of non-perishable food, said HVE Principal Jeanann Yates. It followed a holiday clothing and toy drive for the BCS Family Resource Center.
“This really is a community of giving,” Ms. Yates said. “It’s just what we’re about, and Lane and his family exemplify that.”