News : Benton County Conservation Foundation receives donation from Tilford Elementary

Tilford Elementary presents a check to the Benton County Conservation Foundation

Benton County Naturalists Karen Phelps and Aaron Askelson were presented with a check in the amount of $450.00. The contribution was made to the Benton County Conservation Foundation to be used for the further development of programming at the Nature Center. Kim Isbell, second grade teacher at Tilford Elementary in Vinton, stated she’d wanted to do something for the Environmental Education program in Benton County for quite some time. Mrs. Isbell’s class designed posters and hung them throughout the school building in the month of February - the Caring month - they challenged the entire student body as well as staff to dig into their pockets and empty out their change. A collection jar was placed in the office to collect the change. Friday the 13th of March, turned out to be a very lucky day for the Conservation dept., when students and faculty presented the check to Karen and Aaron.

Karen told Isbell that after doing a program at the school the day before, one of the second graders came up to her and asked it was too late to donate to the Nature Center fund. He then opened his coin clutch and dug out $0.36. “He could have handed me a $100.00 bill and it wouldn’t have meant as much as that sincere amount of $0.36”.

Phelps and Askelson agreed: “We enjoy our jobs, the students, and all the people we get to work with. It’s these unexpected random acts of kindness that drive us to keep going”.

Thank you everyone and Tilford Elementary!