Barksdale Elementary School Creates a Chain Reaction of Kindness with its Donation

Students collected over 1,600 boxes of cereal for the North Texas Food Bank and turned them into dominos during an event at the school.

Boxes of Cheerios, Fruit Loops, Raisin Bran and Lucky Charms turned into dominoes earlier this month at Barksdale Elementary School.

For the second year in a row, students at the Plano ISD campus donated boxes of cereal for the North Texas Food Bank and lined them up like dominoes, starting in a hallway and leading into the gymnasium. Once the first box was tipped over, the kids clapped and cheered as they watched the boxes topple like dominoes.

“The idea was to teach kids about kindness and how one simple act of kindness can start a chain reaction,” said PTO President Tammy Shamburger.

NTFB Philanthropy Project Manager Gail Plotkin and Child Programs Coordinator Sam Smolen attended. Sam said the event was not only a ton of fun, but also engaging for the students. She read “Hunger Bugs Me,” the NTFB children’s book meant to teach young students about food insecurity, to a kindergarten class while on campus.

In total, the students donated 1,674 boxes of cereal to the NTFB, which is the equivalent of 2,187 pounds that will be distributed to neighbors facing hunger.

The 13 counties served by the NTFB have the fourth highest rate of food insecurity in the nation, with nearly 640,000 people facing hunger, including one in six children.

Shamburger said having a food drive that is fun like this one is “really impactful” for the students and also helps them to understand the importance of organizations like the NTFB.