A focus of Collinsville Unit 10 is character education, teaching students the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and reinforcing positive character traits. The results of a recent campaign to help patients at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center show that the students at Webster Elementary School have taken their character education lessons to heart.

Webster School volunteers with their Build-a-Bear stuffed toys that will be donated to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center / Photo courtesy of Unit 10

Through candy bar sales, the students and staff raised about $4,000 for the patients. Each of the 27 classrooms at Webster then designed a stuffed animal using the Build-a-Bear website and dispatched a volunteer to make the toy.

The students were not able to make the stuffed animals themselves, so they designed the toys to ensure they felt ownership in the process, Webster Principal Kevin Stirnaman said. Students will also choose the books to be bought and donated, in December, along with the stuffed animals.

Volunteers affiliated with the school went to the Build-a-Bear workshop in St. Clair Square on a recent Sunday night to build the toys designed by the students. The store stayed open after hours for the volunteers.

The service learning project was the brainchild of a character council Stirnaman implemented at the school. The council, comprised of 10 teachers and Stirnaman, chose to help Cardinal Glennon patients this year because the hospital had recently served family members of some Webster staff members.

Feedback for the Build-a-Bear project was very good, Stirnaman said. Service learning projects will be an annual occurrence at the school.

Students will have even more ownership in the future, Stirnaman said. “The character council will come up with a few ideas and let the students choose which we do,” Stirnaman said.