Westchester Elementary 5th Graders Raise More Than $2,800 for Make-A-Wish

Students in Cindy Voller’s fifth-grade gifted class at Westchester Elementary turned a classroom conversation about service learning into a meaningful effort to help children facing critical illnesses.

After learning about Mrs. Voller’s experience as a volunteer wish granter for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, students asked how they could help grant wishes of their own. Mrs. Voller introduced them to online wish lists connected to local children supported by the organization, and student groups quickly got to work.

The students “adopted” individual children and organized a variety of fundraising efforts to help purchase items from the children’s wish lists. Their projects included bake sales at Pioneer Park and Des Peres Park, classroom collections at school, and other creative fundraising activities led entirely by the students.

So far, the class has raised more than $2,800, and their efforts continue.

Once fundraising goals were reached, student groups used the money they earned to purchase items directly from the children’s wish lists. The gifts were then sent to the local chapter of Make-A-Wish to help brighten the lives of children and families in need.

“I am so proud of their selfless efforts and the passion they showed throughout this project,” said Cindy Voller, gifted education teacher at Westchester Elementary. “What began as a conversation about service learning became something truly meaningful for these students. They worked incredibly hard because they genuinely wanted to make a difference for other kids.”

The project gave students a hands-on opportunity to experience empathy, teamwork, and community service while making a real impact beyond the classroom.

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Pictured are Westchester Elementary students Boone Grimshaw and Paddy Kellerman, who sold candy, soda, Gatorade, and chips at Des Peres Park to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Their efforts helped grant the wish of a child in the program whose dream is to have a batting cage.