Students raise Hawken relief funds
While other Caughlin Ranch Elementary School students were selling dream catchers Wednesday at Scolari’s Food & Drug near the school, Sarah Tsung, 9, was busy making one. The students belong to a service club at the school that is raising money for a Hawken Fire restoration project.
Caughlin Ranch Elementary school students tried Wednesday to help alleviate the nightmare of the Hawken Fire.
Students in a club created to raise money for fire relief sold handmade items for $1 outside the the Scolari’s Food & Drug store at 4788 Caughlin Parkway.
“They’re dream catchers so you probably could catch a (bad) dream,” said fourth-grader Samantha Kazarian, 9, of southwest Reno.
Dream catchers, colored string or yarn attached to wooden sticks, originated with the Ojibwe tribe to filter dreams.
The June 6 fire, sparked by a contractor, consumed 2,700 acres and threatened hundreds of homes near Caughlin Ranch. The students began fundraising in October to restore the area near their school.
“A lot of these kids were definitely aware of the fire because it burned down to their fences,” said fifth-grade teacher Judy Sutherland, who coordinated the event.
Hoping to raise more money, fifth-grader Danny Clifton, 11, said he organized the Caughlin Ranch Service Club to sell the dream catchers outside Scolari’s.
“With all the money we make, we’re hoping to buy seeds for plants and bushes, trees and grass to replace what the fire took from us,” Clifton said.
Resident Jennifer Kazarian said she is proud her daughter, Samantha, joined the cause.
“We need trees and things to get the animals to come out and get the area thriving again,” Kazarian said.
The students also are learning business skills, said parent Susan Tsung, 40. “I think it’s wonderful because these kids are learning how to make the product and market the product.”
Sutherland said the students will continue to sell dream catchers at the school during lunch and recess every Friday.
“It felt good to help a good cause,” said sixth-grader Rachel Perkins, 11.
This article originally appeared in Reno Gazette-Journal.
