Leap Day drive at Ryle feeds 10,000 kids

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UNION — Ryle students used a special day to help a special cause.


Teacher Mary Jo Rechtin challenged students to make Leap Day, Feb. 29, a day to help feed hungry children in Third World countries. It all started when Rechtin heard St. Timothy Parish gave a grant to Kids Against Hunger.


Kids Against Hunger collects money and can purchase, package and ship enough food to feed six children for $1.50.  


“I thought ‘I’m going to challenge the students of Ryle to feed 6,000 kids,’” Rechtin said.  Rechtin presented the program to students and set a goal of collecting $1,500 by Leap Day, which was about two weeks of collecting.  “The kids just went absolutely over the top,” Rechtin said.


Students started getting creative with ways to help collecting.  “My kids were intrigued they could do so much for so little,” Rechtin said.  Many students convinced their parents to offer matching donations and a few students made TV commercials that were shown during school announcements.


“They were outstanding,” Rechtin said.


After collecting about $1,000, Rechtin visited St. Timothy to tell them the school was collecting for the program. That day, program coordinators were about to give up on sending out a summer shipment because they were $1,000 short of what they needed to send the shipment.


The final Leap Day count brought in $2,652, which means 10,608 children will be fed by students from Ryle.


“It just went beyond our wildest dreams,” Rectin said.