Birthday honorees give up gifts for those in need

Four seventh grade boys at Hartselle Junior High School have performed a selfless act in order to help other students who have a need for school supplies.

Ethan Ellis, Conner McKee, Connor Burks and Jackson Terry got together before the end of school in May and decided to celebrate their birthdays in June and July in an unusual way. Instead of accepting the usual birthday gifts from their parents, they opted to take the money and use it for a humanitarian purpose—buy school supplies for distribution to fellow students on and as-needed basis. In addition, they booked the new Hartselle Aquatic Center for a swim party and invited their classmates to come and contribute a school supplies item.

The pool party was held on June 30 with 60 to 70 students showing up. They donated a wide variety of school supplies, including notebook paper, three-ring binders, markers, pencils, etc. The value of the donations was estimated at $300.

“The party invitations were sent out before end of the school term and we were afraid a lot of the kids would forget the date,” said a mother of one of the boys. “But we were pleasantly surprised.”

All of the boys agreed that giving up a birthday gift was a small sacrifice to make

when it came to providing school supplies for students who need them.”