Tween raises money so poor kids can dance
Tween raises money so poor kids can dance
Ten-year-old Drew Buckley loves ballet so much that she wants other kids to feel the excitement. So she collected $1,700, with the help of her mother, to buy new ballet shoes for the kids at the Metropolitan Ministries Partnership School in Tampa.
The students there — some who live in a homeless shelter, others who live in tough urban neighborhoods — take ballet as part of their physical education class. But the kids were dancing in their stocking feet, and that upset Drew.
"The shoes make them feel special," she said. "It makes them feel like a real ballerina."
On Tuesday, Drew and her mother handed out dozens of pairs of shoes to the third, fourth, and fifth grades during their scheduled dance classes at the YMCA across the street from their school. Drew sat on the hardwood floor and the other kids sat in a circle around her. She quietly passed out the shoes — pink for girls, black for buys — then set about tightening the laces for anyone who needed help.
For many of the kids, it was their first pair of ballet shoes. At a cost of up to $20 each, the parents can't afford them, said school officials.
"To them, it's an extravagance," said ballet instructor Glynn Owens. He added that the shoes will help the kids with their dancing form and movement.
Owens is a dance instructor at the Patel Conservatory, which is also where Drew takes her private ballet lessons. Drew's mother, Deana Buckley, volunteers at the Metropolitan Ministries school — a magnet school that was once a privately run charter school until it was taken over by the local school district — and told her daughter about the kids who were dancing in their socks.
Drew began collecting used ballet shoes from the students at Patel, which is attached to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Then she began asking neighbors, relatives and anyone she could for donations for new shoes.
Eventually, she raised enough money to buy shoes for the whole school — about 100 kids. Drew and her mother said they would like to keep raising money because new students enroll all the time, and because kids grow out of the shoes so fast.
"The shoes make it a little more official for the kids," said Deana Buckley. "It makes them feel like any other kid in a ballet class."
Once everyone had the slippers snugly on their feet, Drew sat on a chair on the sideline to watch. The girls pirouetted and pranced, looking at themselves in the mirror as they pointed their toes gracefully.
"It feels great," said a grinning Arlandrya Alford, who is 11. "The socks, they make you slip and slide. These shoes are good. Comfortable. You get to learn good moves."
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- Posted on January 12, 2010
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What Drew and her mother did was really nice.Giving shoes to people who are unfortunate,is something I would do.I was a ballerina since i was in the 5Th grade now iam in the 8Th.I also know how expensive the shoes are.Keep up the good work!!!!
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That is so nice of that little girl to want to help all those kids that need help. That was good that she and her mom went and got shoes for those kid. She is an inspiration to kids that want to help but are to scared and she is really cool for doing that helping those kids in need for help.
Summary
A little girl and her family are are raising money for poor people. They raised money to buy shoes to kids that are poor so they could walk around with shoes and feel good. She raised enough money to buy the shies for the whole school so the kids could have their own shoes to wear. She made a lot of money to get ballet shoes for kids that are taking ballet class. She wanted them to feel special just like everyone else.
What Drew and her mom Deana Buckley did was really nice. They had helped people who couldn't afford ballet shoes. They say they plan to keep on Raising money for everyone to get ballet shoes. I think what Mrs.Buckley and her 10 year old daughter Drew Buckley did made the kids feel really special. I honestly think that they should keep doing this in the future.
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I agree this little girl helped out a lot of kids and that was a really good thing to do. She did it all for this other kids that need the extra help and this kids that can't always afford to get thing and buy things that they might need for the future or the present. She is and inspiration to other kids so they can also help around their community and everywhere else.
i think it is so sweet that Drew is willing to share her time so that other boys and girls can dance. she is so cute. using the money she earned to help kids that wanted to dance. if i was her mom i would be so proud.
Drew should feel really proud or what she did. She probably made a huge influence on the kids. I can't believe she raised 1,700 for all those kids. That is a huge thing for a 10 year old girl to do. So that shows us we can make a huge impact at this age, if she can make a huge impact at the age of 10.
That's so sweet!!! i can't believe a 10 year old girl would give up some of her time to help the poor kids who cannot afford to buy ballet shoes. she is a really kind girl, because she actually raised alot of money for that other kids who enjoy dancing like her would learn even more with the ballet shoes because they can learn more steps with ballet shoes. well, for my opinion she is very very sweet!!!!!!!!
That's so sweet i would love to help if i could. I think Drew is doing an amazing thing and is a great person. Next time i get the opportunities to help in my community I will definitely take the offer!
these days people need help like this. the economic status in the country is falling apart due to debt and recessions. It's gotten better but always gets worse not soon afterwards. The gas prices are going up and too many parents are working more than one minimum wage job to get by. Alot of kids in america can't pay for their own ballet shoes or equipment because of the economic crisis their parents have to deal with