Due to a little scheduling snafu, Fickett Elementary got a double dose of holiday cheer on this, the last day of school for Atlanta Public Schools before the break — thanks to incredible support from its community and business partners. As a part of Project Angel, the Atlanta-based global delivery service UPS brought each of the some 600 students a wrapped and personalized gift taken from a wish list supplied by the school earlier in the season. This morning the gym was literally filled with wrapped gifts, in keeping with a holiday tradition at the school.
Also today, the school received a much needed and much appreciated cash infusion thanks to the Ben Hill Community Association, which provided $500 to help provided practice books for the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT).
“We believe as a community organization it was important to step up,” said Buford Boykin of the Ben Hill Community Association. “As an organization we felt that we should go beyond the call of duty and put some money back into community. We couldn’t wait for the state or anybody else to help.”
For Fickett Principal Dr. Anthony Dorsey, it was a double blessing for a school that welcomes help where it can find it.
As for the UPS donation, he noted, “In the midst of a recession, this has become a big deal in the community to have this kind of support. And the community really does help with this. They provide support and refreshments for this, and it really lifts the spirits of the entire community. Those who not able to provide a gift for their kid can always count on UPS for providing at least one wrapped requested gift.”
And as for the Ben Hill Community Association’s donation earmarked for help on CRCT prep books, Dr. Dorsey said, “We’re trying, for the first time ever, to buy each student a copy of the GCRCT practice book. We normally have one set for each class, and so each teacher will have 25 books inside their room for something like 100 students to share. So we’ve asked the parents to purchase the books, and that could equal $15 for the two books (one match, one reading). The Ben Hill Communication Association, then, is helping to off-set that cost for those students who can’t afford the two books.
“Again, it’s the community being accountable for our children,” Dr. Dorsey continued. “It is Buford Boykin and the Ben Hill Community Association taking the initative to reach out to our school. We didn’t solicit this help. He reached out to Fickett and asked what he could do. He said, ‘We have $500, what can we do with it?’