TRAVERSE CITY -- Some Traverse City area students are living a lesson in community giving after their charity jar was stolen from the classroom.
The second graders at Eastern Elementary are taking part in a school wide initiative called "The Community Heroes Project".
Each class at the school is collecting money for a different charity. The second graders are saving to buy stuffed animals for the children of military members serving overseas.
About $200 was collected over the past two weeks,but last weekend it was stolen from the classroom.
After the community found out about the theft, the students have seen a huge outpouring of primarily anonymous donations.
The Principal of the school, Jana DuGuay, says $3,000.00 has been donated in the past 24 hours.
"It's so encouraging to the children. The focus is no longer on the unfortunate incident. The community has inspired us to help others, which was the intent of the original program," explains DuGuay. "I don't think the children were expecting such an outpouring of support. The community was just rushing in to help Wednesday. Dozens of community members were just flooding in."
"The children are in awe. I'm just so pleased that the community modeled for the students. It's called the Community Heroes Project and the heroes of this community have stepped up for our students," adds DuGuay.
The goal is to raise $15,000 school wide to be split among the various charities.
The investigation into the stolen money continues. If you have any information call the Traverse City Police Department or the Silent Observer Tip Line at 231-941-TIPS.
