[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 85 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       BOUNTIFUL BIRTHDAY BOX AT BEVERLY FARMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday June 18, 2004

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to recognize my 
constituents at Beverly Farms Elementary School in Potomac, Maryland.
  For two years, teachers and students at Beverly Farms have been 
participating in the Birthday Box Program which allows children to 
donate duplicate toys and gifts to homeless shelters and other 
community schools and organizations in Montgomery County. I am proud to 
note that another school in my congressional district, DuFief 
Elementary School in Gaithersburg, initiated the concept of the 
Birthday Box.
  Students, parents, and teachers at Beverly Farms also participate in 
numerous service projects which include walks for the homeless and 
volunteering at the Stepping Stones Shelter.
  Mr. Speaker, Beverly Farms Elementary School is putting smiles on 
children's faces and lifting spirits throughout our community. It is my 
honor to submit for the Congressional Record an article published in 
The Gazette by Amy Reardon on the inspirational work done by the 
students at Beverly Farms and the great goodwill they are achieving.

       Gift Box Ensures That More Children Have A Happy Birthday

                            (By Amy Reardon)

       Ten-year-old Christine Antonsen has so many toys she hasn't 
     had the chance to play with all of them.
       Last year when her mother asked her to clean her room, 
     Antonsen found birthday and holiday gifts, still wrapped in 
     plastic, crammed in her closet and under her bed. She had 
     never opened the stained glass art kit, flower printing kit 
     or sand art kit stashed beneath her clothes and toys, so she 
     decided to donate them to Beverly Farms Elementary School's 
     Bountiful Birthday Box.
       Antonsen is one of more than 50 students who have 
     contributed to the birthday box program, which has students 
     deliver duplicate gifts for donation to county shelters, 
     community organizations and Beverly Farms' sister school 
     Maryvale Elementary School in Rockville.
       Antonsen's mother, Tracy Toppings, the PTA's community 
     service committee chair, was inspired to start the program by 
     the number of toys her daughter had but did not use. It is a 
     concept the school borrowed from DuFief Elementary School in 
     Gaithersburg.
       For the past two years, students at Beverly Farms have 
     chosen to donate duplicate birthday, holiday and bar/bat 
     mitzvah gifts to the school's Bountiful Birthday Box instead 
     of returning the items for more loot.
       ``If you get a present that you already have on your 
     birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah or any of those holidays, you 
     can return it,'' said 7-year-old Nicholas Muscarella. ``But 
     if you put it in the birthday box, it goes to families that 
     don't have enough money to buy presents.''
       Each month students are reminded to bring in duplicate 
     gifts instead of returning them. Big presents, such as board 
     games and dolls, go to Stepping Stones Shelter in Rockville 
     and the National Center for Children and Families in 
     Bethesda. Small donations, such as decks of cards, go to 
     Beverly Farm's sister-school Maryvale for its school store.
       ``If kids don't get any birthday presents they won't feel 
     very happy, so we're donating to them,'' said 7-year-old 
     Rachel Rabinovitz.
       The birthday box allows Stepping Stones Shelter--a 90-day 
     homeless shelter for families in need--to throw birthday 
     parties for children living there, said Tina McKendree, 
     executive director.
       ``The children in the shelter often don't get new things,'' 
     McKendree said. ``If they can open something that is brand 
     new, it makes it that much more special.
       ``They also know there are other children out there, who 
     care about them. It helps keep their spirits up during a 
     difficult time.''
       Toppings said the box is only a small part of the school's 
     community service program. Beverly Farms PTA formed its 
     community service committee three years ago after the Sept. 
     11, 2001, terrorist attacks and directs most of its service 
     projects to Stepping Stones Shelter and Maryvale Elementary.
       The committee's biggest annual event is the Fannie Mae 
     Foundation's Help the Homeless walk, which raises money for 
     Stepping Stones Shelter.
       Tying itself to two organizations has made the program easy 
     to maintain and allows the group to address needs as they 
     arise, according to Toppings.
       The partnership with Stepping Stones Shelter began when the 
     school first hosted a homeless walk in 2000.
       Over the years, the school's service to the shelter has 
     spawned independent volunteerism from the Beverly Farms 
     community. Students have donated their allowances while 
     families and scouting troops have gone to the shelter to 
     volunteer: cooking dinner, reading to children or throwing 
     holiday parties, McKendree said.
       ``Through the partnership the kids learn more about the 
     homeless and how they can get involved,'' McKendree said.
       The sister-school concept, which links schools through 
     resources and activities, is not unique to Maryvale and 
     Beverly Farms. Compared to the 3 percent of students who 
     receive free and reduced-price meals at Beverly Farms, 40 
     percent of students at Maryvale participate in the program.
       ``The idea behind the program is to be aware of differences 
     in the community both ethnically and economically,'' Toppings 
     said.
       Laura Marantz, school guidance counselor at Beverly Farms 
     who collects donations to the birthday box, said the emphasis 
     on community service and donations teaches the children 
     empathy and generosity at a young age.
       ``[The birthday box program] helps them have perspective 
     and realize how fortunate they are,'' Marantz said.

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