The General Idea of Preschool Philanthropists

Here's an article from online that I just had to share.

By Carolyn Younger
STAFF WRITER
Thursday, July 10, 2008

Ellie Johnson had just rolled into town for a two-month stay and was strolling along Main Street when she came across a collection of hand-decorated shopping bags and the young artists who made them — a group of bright-eyed preschoolers on a mission.

Seven 4- and 5-year-olds from Discoveryland Preschool and Daycare had set up an outdoor market on a bench in front of Baksheesh.

Each had already decorated one of the cloth bags donated by Baksheesh owner Annette Pereira, and now they were ready to sell them and use the proceeds to buy art supplies for school children in Iraq.

Guiding them in the project and the fine art of sales was Mia Swenson, a former Baksheesh employee and now a student teacher at the preschool working toward a BS degree in early childhood education.

The idea came after Swenson learned from a friend stationed in Iraq, Army Cpl. Sam Mendoza, that the children he saw every day have very little.

“He works alongside Iraqi police and he told me one of his main jobs is keeping the kids there safe,” Swenson said. “It’s very dangerous there and the kids don’t have the luxuries that these do.”

When Swenson told her young students what she had learned they decided to do something. So with bags from Pereira they collected their marking pens and got to work turning each bag into a personal work of art.

Two days before the Fourth of July they set up shop outside Baksheesh and within minutes had sold 10 bags.

After admiring her pick, Johnson and her companion headed off to the market to a chorus of good-byes from the artists.

“It’s really nice,” she told the youngsters. “I’m looking forward to using it."