Hooray for Us!

It was recess, and Mrs. Ford’s class was playing kickball. Emma kicked the ball as hard as she could. The ball shot over the playground fence. It landed in an old park next to the school.

“I’ll get it!” Yuki shouted. She opened the gate in the fence and saw the ball in some weeds. As Yuki ran to get it, she tripped over an old tire. She fell and scraped her knee.

“Ouch!” she yelled.

Philip and Iris ran to help Yuki up. She limped back to the playground.

When Mrs. Ford saw Yuki’s knee, she got some wipes and a bandage. Then she cleaned up Yuki’s scrape.

Yuki looked at her bandage and shook her head. “Look at that old park next door, Mrs. Ford. It’s awful! No one could play there without getting hurt.” 

Mrs. Ford rolled her wheelchair toward the park. She shook her head. “You are right, Yuki. This place is a mess!”

“Maybe our class could fix it up,” said Yuki.

Mrs. Ford sighed. “We could pull some weeds and get rid of some trash. We would need help to fix the swings or that bench. Planting new grass, bushes, and flowers would also be expensive.” Mrs. Ford took another look at the park. Then she shook her head again. “I think it would cost $1,000 to fix this place up. The school can’t pay for it. The school needs its money to buy books. The school also needs to pay the teachers and other workers. Money is scarce now.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

Then Emma said, “I know how we could get some money! My cousin’s school had a carnival. They made enough money to buy new computers. We could have a carnival, too!”

All the children began talking at once. They decided that a carnival was a good idea. Later, Mrs. Ford talked with the other teachers and the principal, Mr. Peters. They all wanted to help put on a carnival. They wanted to fix up the old park.

The school held the carnival on a Saturday. Each class had a booth. The booths were set up on the playground. Some booths had games and prizes. One class had a hot dog stand. One class painted people’s faces. Yuki was in charge of her class’s booth. It was a throwing game that was lots of fun.

The weather was perfect. Everyone had a great time. Some people walked over to look at the old park. They came back shaking their heads.

Then a man and a woman from a television station arrived. The woman was a reporter. She talked to Yuki and Mrs. Ford. The man took pictures of everything. The carnival was on the news that night! The whole town learned about the park.

On Monday, Mrs. Ford’s class added up the money from the carnival.

“Oh, no!” Yuki said. “We only made $316! That’s not enough!” No one spoke. A few children sighed. Then Mr. Peters knocked on the classroom door. The man and woman from the TV station were with him. 

“These people would like to take more pictures,” Mr. Peters said. “They want to tell everyone how much money you made!”

The man pointed his camera at the class. No one said a word. The children frowned.

Finally, Yuki said, “We didn’t make enough money to fix up the park. We tried, but...”

“Money is scarce in our town,” Mrs. Ford added. “There just isn’t enough money to do everything we want.”

“Hmmm,” the reporter said. “Maybe I can help.”

That night, the school was on the news again. First there was a tape of Yuki and Mrs. Ford talking.

Then the reporter said, “Viewers, I know you care about our kids. Money is scarce. But maybe you could help fix up this park in other ways. Please think about it.”

The next week, Mr. Peters came to the classroom. “Mrs. Ford, would you bring your class out to the parking lot?” he asked.

“The parking lot?” Mrs. Ford asked. “Why?”

Mr. Peters smiled. “There’s something that you and the children should see.”

The children could not believe what was in the parking lot!

Mr. Peters explained what had happened. First a truck from a lumber store had arrived. It brought two new benches for the old park. Then a truck from a big toy store had driven up. It brought two new swing sets.

A truck from a lawn care company also arrived. It brought several rolls of grass for the park. 

Just then, another truck pulled into the parking lot. A man and a woman began lifting out trays of flowers and bushes in pots.

The woman smiled at the children. She pointed at a tree in the truck.

“We’re going to plant this tree in the park. We have a sign to put in front of it.”

She held up the sign. It said, “Thanks to the children of McKay Elementary.”

That weekend, children, teachers, and parents cleaned up the trash in the park. They pulled the weeds and put down the grass. They planted the flowers and bushes. They spent some of the carnival money on new soil. They would save the rest of the money until it was needed. It would take more money and work to keep the park looking beautiful. They would need to mow the lawn and take care of the flowers. They also would need to keep the benches and swings in good shape.

After a week, the park was ready to open. The TV reporter came back. Mrs. Ford’s class had been asked to name the park. They chose “Rainbow Park.”

“Rainbows are made of lots of different colors,” Yuki told the reporter. “A lot of different people made this park. It’s like a rainbow.”

Mrs. Ford smiled. “Money might be scarce in our town. But we have lots of caring people!”