Blue Ridge Elementary School’s Junior Beta Club sponsored “March Madness” as a school-wide service project to raise funds for the Caring Hearts Free Clinic of Patrick County. Each year the club selects an organization in the county to support.

The club sponsored four dress-up days for the month. The dress-up days were “Color My School” (each grade level wore an assigned color), “Back Up My School” (wear clothes and hat backward), “Be A Hero—Make a Difference” (wear superhero shirts), and “Hats Off to Service” (wear favorite hat).

Each week the class with the most students participating won a snack prize from the Beta Club. At the conclusion of the month, the class that raised the most funds won a “Silly String Celebration” from the Beta Club.

All students at BRES worked hard and the total amount collected was $427.

A group of club representatives, led by club president Irene Smith,

presented the check to the director of the clinic, Christie Fain.

Fain said, “We are so thankful to have wonderful partnerships

in the community! When kids start fundraising to help their community at a young age, they are being taught the importance of being civic-minded.

“The experience they have is that even though they are young, they can still make a positive difference in their community. As they become adults and working members of the community, they will take this lesson with them and continue to think about how they can help people around them,” Fain added.

The Blue Ridge Elementary Junior Beta Club has 44 members, led by

school sponsor Stacey Shepherd. The club is in its 26th year for the

school. The club recently sent students to the state convention in

Hampton, and has also qualified for the National Beta

Convention in Savannah, Ga. in June.