Sixth-graders at Heritage Elementary School proudly show off the 156 care packages that they packaged for the Downtown Rescue Mission. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Sixth-graders at Heritage Elementary School collected and assembled 156 ‘care packages’ to distribute during a Christmas meal at the Downtown Rescue Mission.

This year, Heritage’s sixth-grade teachers wanted “to do something closer to home” after shipping more than 20 boxes to soldiers in Afghanistan in 2012, Danielle Dixon said. “(We) feel it’s important for the students to give back to the community.”

They chose the mission because “it’s a well-known organization that has done a tremendous amount of good for the community,” Dixon said. Other sixth-grade teachers are Heather Chaffin, Beth Clemmons, Lori Lott and Brandi Rainey.

Teachers led class discussions on the importance of basic needs for individuals at the rescue mission. “Students collected items, put together the care packages, visited the mission to serve a meal and handed out the packages,” Dixon said.

Dixon isn’t sure if sixth-graders truly comprehend the idea of ‘being homeless,’ because they “are much more tuned in to their own lives and personal issues. This is why teachers feel that service learning projects are so vital.”

This project showed students that taken-for-granted items, like shampoo and new socks, are considered luxuries to some. “Through visiting the rescue mission, the students gained real-life experience on the struggles of the community’s homeless,” Dixon said.

“Showing these sixth-graders that they can ‘make a difference’ is the project’s biggest goal. To let them see that it doesn’t matter how old they are, if they have the motivation, they can make a difference,” Dixon said.

The mission project was successful, even if it made a difference in the life of one person. “These students put together 156 care packages, so they have made a difference in at least 156 lives,” Dixon said.

“The sixth-grade teachers could not be more proud of our students. The sixth-grade parents at Heritage went above and beyond with their contributions,” she said.