Timber Trail Third Graders Bring Gift-Giving Project to Life

Third graders from Timber Trail Elementary took part in the school’s annual Lean on Me gift-giving project this month, visiting a Lone Tree Target store to purchase holiday gifts for families in need using money the students raised themselves.

As part of the project, students, teachers and parent volunteers traveled to the store to shop for assigned families. Working in small groups, students followed preplanned shopping lists and used calculators to track spending, calculate sales tax, and stay within their budgets.

The Lean on Me project began weeks ago in the classroom, where students are challenged to raise funds independently rather than ask directly for money.

Students earned donations in a variety of ways, including selling handmade items at local entrepreneur markets and collecting funds from family members. One student used proceeds from selling bird feeders, while another collected donations during a Thanksgiving gathering.

In addition to individual fundraising efforts, the school supported the project through a pajama-day fundraiser. Once the totals were tallied, students researched their assigned families’ wish lists online and created shopping plans before the field trip.

At Target, the store filled with small groups of students pushing carts, checking item sizes and recalculating totals with replacement gifts when items were unavailable.

By the end of the trip, shopping carts were filled with gifts, and students walked away with hands-on lessons in teamwork, financial literacy, and community care.