Students earn money for building program at MACA

Abe Kiernan, Alex Kiernan, and Knox Kiernan.

What do mops, eggs, and aluminum cans have in common? Students from Mountain Area Christian Academy use these as tools to help with funding for the new MACA facility being built midway between Blue Ridge and Blairsville. These young students came up with three creative ways to fulfill a commitment to the school.

Kelli Poteete, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Poteete of Blairsville, was visiting with her Aunt Betty and noticed some garbage bags filled with Pepsi aluminum cans in the backyard. Kelli asked Aunt Betty if she could have the cans to make money for her school, Mountain Area Christian Academy. Aunt Betty agreed. Little did Kelli know that a storage building in the yard was filled with hundred - perhaps even thousands of cans. The back of a truck was also filled with more soft drink cans. Kelli ended up with 80 bags of aluminum cans which weighed 373 pounds.

Kelli's dad delivered them to the recycling center, and the school received money for Kelli's hard work. Kelli continues to collect cans for the school, even persuading her Uncle Billy to save also. Kelli is a third grader at MACA.

Kelli Poteete with her aluminum cans.

Abe, Alex, and Knox Kiernan, children of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Kiernan of Blairsville, made an initial pledge of $1,000.00 during the school's campaign, Building for Eternity....on a Solid Foundation, to help fund the financial needs of the new and much larger school building. These students clean Panel Built's break and bathroom weekly. This involves sweeping, mopping, cleaning the tables, and sanitizing the counters in the break room. In addition to the toilets and sinks in the bathroom, the chidren empty the trash from both rooms. Each of them has pledged 10% of their earnings to the building fund. Abe is an eighth grader at MACA; Alex is a 5th grader; and Knox is a 3rd grader.

Alan and Jennifer Sanders of Blairsville were the co-chairs for Mountain Area Christian Academy's capital campaign fund during the academic year of 2005-2006.

Their children, Catherine, Claire, Caleb, and Caroline, have an unusual project for helping with the building fund. Their project involves chickens and eggs. The Sanders feed and water the chickens, gather the eggs, and market them to friends and neighbors who want fresh eggs. Approximately 17 to 20 eggs a day are gathered and distributed to those customers who

have placed orders. The chickens are also fed once a day. Thus far, over $200.00 has been donated to the school.

Not only is the school benefiting from the hard work of each of these families, but the children are learning hard work does pay off in the immediate and distant future. Economic training has been invaluable, and each parent would echo that valuable lessons are being learned through these experiences.