Lincoln students donate dental items to Springfield homeless groups

Lincoln Elementary School students collected thousands of dental items to donate to Springfield’s homeless community.

The students spent most of the month collecting the supplies as part of a school-wide supply drive that started on March 6.

The drive, spearheaded by kindergarten teacher Aimee Newton, was to teach students about healthy dental hygiene habits, to serve others, and to encourage friendly competition regarding which class could collect the most supplies.

“This is a wonderful example of our teachers going the extra mile to teach our kids about real-world lessons, like the value of community service, in addition to their typical classroom lessons,” said Superintendent Bob Hill. “Every day, we strive to mold not only good students, but good citizens.”

Since the drive started, more than 2,000 items have been collected, including toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash and floss.

One student in Newton’s class even brought in hundreds of toothbrushes in one day.

The items will be donated to homeless support organizations in Springfield such as the Springfield Soup Kitchen.

Lincoln held the drive after programs from National Children’s Dental Health Month in February.

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