The Education Club from Southwest Florida College donated more than 1,000 pencils to Patriot Elementary School Friday afternoon, just in time for the fourth and fifth grade students to use for the FCAT test on April 11.
The Education Club began selling candy bars six weeks ago to raise money, so they could buy pencils for Patriot Elementary School and Colonial Elementary School in time for the FCAT. This is the first year the club decided to hold the fund-raiser for two Lee County elementary schools.
Southwest Florida College Director of Marketing Communications Diana Sabino said the Education Club members who are responsible for the donations are Stacy Hernandez, Donna Lauricella, Jennifer Lee, Kalina Arter, and Debbie Trembley. The club sold 500 bars of chocolate.
Lauricella said the club wanted to do a fund-raiser and reach out to the community to help two Lee County Title 1 schools.
The club sold 500 World’s Finest Chocolate bars at the Southwest Florida College, to education students and some of the students took the bars out into the community to sell.
Lauricella said they donated 1,062 pencils to Patriot Elementary School and Colonial Elementary School in Fort Myers.
Patriot Elementary School Test Coordinator Diane Blozis said they will use the pencils for the FCAT test and the Stanford 10 test for kindergarten, first grade and second grade students in May.
“We are very appreciative for Southwest Florida College and their donation,” she said. “The students will be impressed that college students donated them pencils.”
The Education Club hopes to donate more pencils next year.