Good morning, neighbor!
I was talking with Amy Charboneau the other day and she was telling me about some of the wonderful, caring children who live in our community. As we head into the Christmas holiday, it warmed my heart to hear about a project they recently tackled.
Amy, who worked for the Greenfield School Department for many years, has a second-grader, Preston, who wanted to invite some of his friends to his house to do remote learning. Let’s face it, it has been a tough year for all of us, but especially for children.
Amy said she thought is was a great idea, so she started the Plum Tree Learning Pod, which consists of six children who come to her house every school day so that she can oversee what they’re doing.
“I’m not teaching them,” she said. “I’m making sure everyone is doing what they’re supposed to be doing and helping them when they have a problem with technology or an assignment. That way, their parents can go to work without worry.”
Amy said the participants are all children of her friends. She has set up work spaces in her finished basement for Preston, 9-year-old Carson Farrell, 7-year-old Rian Farrell, 9-year-old Sofia Ruggeri, 7-year-old Anthony Ruggeri and 6-year-old Charlie Lovett. They are in first through fourth grade, and are all in the Greenfield school system.
“Though I don’t actually teach them, the kids and I decided we wanted to do some sort of community service project,” Amy continued. “There’s so much need in the community, especially this year with the pandemic.”
She and the children talked about doing a food drive, made posters, posted about the effort on Facebook, and shared the news with friends and family members.
“People would drop off food near my garage door,” she said. “Each Wednesday — they had a half-day of school — we’d go around and pick up donations from people who couldn’t get out to bring it to us. We’d schedule the pickups, so there was no contact.”
Last week, Amy and the Plum Tree Learning Pod delivered 1,000 pounds of food — two truckloads — to the Center for Self-Reliance Food Pantry in Greenfield. They also donated personal care items like toothpaste, shampoo, baby wipes and some gift cards, as well as Clorox wipes, Lysol spray, toilet paper and more.
“The kids worked hard,” she said. “They’d spend their breaks and recesses sorting and packing boxes. They were super excited when people would drop off. They’d rush up the stairs to see what they brought.”
The children helped load the items into Amy’s vehicle and then helped unload at the food pantry.
“It teaches them to give back to their community,” she said. “Of course, they’re parents are very involved in the community, so they’ve instilled that in them. They’re constantly reinforcing it in their children.”
I think it’s lovely, and so fortunate for the children, that they can learn together in the same room. Children have been so isolated in 2020. What a wonderful way to form a bond they haven’t had with their classmates this year.
Amy told me her son is an only child, so Preston spent many weeks in the beginning of the pandemic alone.
“It was devastating for him,” she said. “We had to figure a way that he could be around other children safely.”
She said she cleans constantly, and she and the other parents keep their “circle” small so they don’t worry about lots of other contacts.
“We wanted to create normalcy for our children in a safe way,” she said.
Last week, when Greenfield called a “snow day,” Amy spent the day baking cookies with the children and letting them go sledding.
“It’s not the ideal situation, but it’s better than it could be,” she said. “We’re getting them through this, and they’re doing the same for us.”
I wish Amy and all of the children in her pod nothing but the best. What a wonderful, thoughtful and caring thing to do. After talking with Amy, I know they’ll all get through this just fine.
And to all of you, I wish you a wonderful and joyous holiday. Enjoy yourselves and let’s all be thankful for what we have. I know it has been a tough year, but I’m hopeful that 2021 will be much better. Take care, stay safe and I’ll see you next week.
I mentioned last week that Greenfield Business Association was going before the Greenfield Board of License Commissioners to ask permission to hold a New Year’s Eve event in Highland Park. After a lot of thought, it was announced after the meeting that GBA won’t pursue it, so there will not be an event sponsored by the association in Highland Park this year.
Senior Reporter Anita Fritz grew up in Franklin County after moving from Spokane, Wash., when she was just a few weeks old. She covers Greenfield and does regional and COVID-19 reporting for the Greenfield Recorder.