Beck National Elementary Honor Society Raises $5,000 for Charity

When the Pasta for Pennies fundraiser began on Jan. 18, the goal of the National Elementary Honor Society was to raise $2,011 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

On Feb. 4, the last day of the fundraiser, Beck NEHS students had surpassed their goal times two, raising more than $5,000 for their cause.

“I love that [so much was raised] because all that money goes to people who really need it and I think that there will be a great impact on their lives,” said sixth-grade NEHS member Lexi Bays.

As a sixth grader, Bays will leave Beck next year, but said she hopes to continue her involvement as a member of her middle or high school's National Honor Society.

“I’m overjoyed [to be in NEHS], because I love helping people,” Bays said. “I love to see the smile on their faces and I love the feeling that I get in their reaction from helping them.” 

Boasting 76 student members, Beck is the first and only elementary school in Utica Community Schools to charter a National Elementary Honor Society. 

“The principal wanted to do something at school to promote positive grades and behavior, so we looked into what NEHS was about and then we decided we would try to charter it this year,” said Sharon Costandi, Beck NEHS adviser. “We were hoping to get 20 kids and we have 76 in the program. It’s nice to see academically how well students are doing at Beck.”

In addition to earning A’s and B’s, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students looking to join NEHS must also receive top marks in citizenship and behavior.

“They have to be scoring high across the board, academically, in citizenship and work habits,” Costandi said.

Once students are accepted into NEHS, they must both maintain their grades and citizenship marks and participate in four community service projects throughout the school year.

“We have a student council, so we wanted NEHS to be more student service work, looking outside of the school at what can we do and how we can give back as a community,” Costandi said. 

Pasta for Pennies is the third community service project Beck NEHS students have participated in this year, having previously collected donations for Stockings for Soldiers and caroled at a local senior home.

“This year, because it is the first year, I went and investigated different programs we could participate in,” Costandi said. “Next year, we’ll elect a president, vice president and probably a secretary and the kids will vote on the four different projects they will do.”

To jump-start this transition, Costandi said she plans to let students vote on this year’s final project. 

Fifth-grade NEHS student Gretchen Stuben said while Pasta for Pennies has been her favorite project this year, she hopes one of the future projects will benefit animals as well.

“It feels really great [to be a NEHS member] because it is such an honor to be able to help out with organizations that can help kids have a better future,” Stuben said, referring to the recent Pasta for Pennies fundraiser.

And while the Pasta for Pennies campaign has ended, a special treat still awaits the two classrooms that raised the most money during the fundraiser.

Bays said she hopes her class falls into one of these categories.

As a partner with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the Pasta for Pennies program, Olive Garden will treat the classroom that raised the most money during the campaign to a pasta party, while the class to raise the second most, will receive a Hungry Howie’s pizza party.

“Most of the kids, if you talk to them, will tell you they think it's an honor to be elected in the program and will talk about how much they’ve enjoyed doing the community service projects,” Costandi said. “These kids are getting recognized for their achievement academically. It’s a really nice group of kids and it's great to be a part of it.”