All too often, we hear of today’s youth being preoccupied with their electronic devices, self-absorbed, and not being concerned with the world around them. Still, there is a group of fourth-graders at Jersey Shore Elementary who give lie to that notion. They conducted a food drive that benefitted Jersey Shore’s New Love Center. That drive-in par yielded in part $2,000 worth of macaroni and cheese for the center.

“I found out about the food drive through a friend who works at Jersey Shore Elementary school. I contacted the principal and asked her if I could come to the school and talk to the girls about how they came up with the idea and what their plans were,” Kristin Hughes, Administrative Assistant for the New Love Center, told Webb Weekly. “I set up a time and went in and talked with the girls about what they were doing. They decided on their own that they wanted to do some kind of drive for the community, they talked with their principal, and they narrowed it down to The New Love Center and that they would ask for two things — Macaroni & Cheese and canned soup. The girls made a video to share with their school and posters to hang, letting people know what they were doing.”

Hughes said they began collecting in the middle of February and planned to collect until the end of March. The Children’s ministry pastor at Crossroads Church, Jamie Bailey, heard about the drive and decided he wanted to be a part of it. He decided that he wanted to put the last several months’ worth of the children’s offering ($1,000) towards their drive. He called Hughes and told her he wanted to take the offering money and buy 1,000 boxes of mac and cheese and deliver it to the school.

“We brainstormed the best way to do this, and I decided that we should call Bill Lingle to get him involved,” said Hughes. “I called Bill the next day and told him exactly what was going on, and he told me he was going to look into a few things and get back to me. The next day he came to my office and told me his plan: he was going to order $1,000 worth of mac and cheese, AND he was going to match the $1,000 donation. The girls would be receiving over 3,000 boxes of mac and cheese. Bill ordered the mac and cheese, and we made plans to deliver it on Monday the 22nd. Bill Lingle and Jersey Shore Manager Sam Lenker loaded a flatbed trailer and delivered 3,480 boxes of mac and cheese to Jersey Shore Elementary on Monday, March 22nd. The girls plan to continue to collect items until the end of March, and then we will take our truck over to the elementary school to load up all of the donations.”

Hughes said she was very moved by the efforts of the Jersey Shore Elementary School students.

“Every time I think about this story, I get teary-eyed; it’s so amazing to think that girls as young as 4th grade came up with this idea all on their own and look what they were able to do with it,” Hughes declared. “Not only are they touching the lives of many people in the community who will receive this food, but they are inspiring others to want to think beyond themselves and want to do something good too. My daughter came to me this week and told me that she wants to do something good for the community too. One act of kindness creates a ripple effect around you. When I talked with the girls, I was able to tell them how proud of them I was. I told the girls that they were going to change the world someday, and one of them replied, “I think we already have!” It means so much to us to have the amazing community support that we do; we couldn’t do what we do without the support of those around us. On behalf of The New Love Center: we want to send a huge thank you to the Jersey Shore Elementary school, Bill Lingle at Lingles Market and Crossroads Church.”