Supplements

archive ISSUE

Youth hosts 'alternative' birthday party

Story and photos by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

So, it’s your birthday. What kind of gifts would you like your friends to bring to the party?

After discussing his birthday plans with his mother, Cheri, Kyle Hobbs, 11, decided he wanted pencils, notebooks, crayons, markers, construction paper and a whole list of items people often describe as “school supplies.”

Kyle invited 10 friends to a pool party, and asked them to bring supplies that he would donate to Sister Thea Bowman School in East St. Louis.

While he said his mother suggested the idea, he wanted to do this because he “already had enough stuff.”

School principal, Sister Janet McCann, ASC said she was “impressed” with Kyle’s offer to help. “We have a number of families who will be very appreciative of having the supplies,” she said.

Kyle and his family belong to St. Nicholas Parish in O’Fallon.

To find out how you can contribute to Sister Thea Bowman School, please call 397-0316.