by Sharon Shapiro
COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER

March 4, 2004

POWAY – Students at Cornerstone Christian School recently learned the lesson of the famous fable "Stone Soup." In the story, a group of people in a town go hungry because others will not share their food. But when one person starts to make soup out of water and a stone, others add bits of their food to make enough soup for the whole community.

"If you all share, look how many (servings) it manifests," said parent volunteer Dawn Stapleford.

The recipe at Cornerstone included chicken broth, peas, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce and potatoes. Each class formed a line and contributed their portion of vegetables to a pot.  Later, students were given a small bit to taste. The rest – about 30 gallons – went to North County Interfaith Council in Escondido for the emergency winter shelter.

The soup-making was part of a program that Stapleford started four years ago at the Poway private school, aimed at raising awareness about homelessness.  "We can help bring awareness at an early age and (teach them) not to be afraid. They live such a nice, privileged suburban life here," she said.  Stapleford's goal is to get the students excited to donate.

"You've got to get them interested at an early age . . . They think it's what you do – part of a responsibility. Not just on holidays."  Her program has grown with the encouragement of principal Kirk Huckabone. Now it includes a week of activities.

Middle school students visit homeless shelters.  "At first they're very timid, shy," said Stapleford. "They don't know if they should converse with them. After half an hour or so, they're talking to them; they realize that they're people, too."

Some teachers incorporate the theme of giving to others into their lesson plans. Third-grade teacher Wendy Morante observed how her students reacted to the week of activities. "They're so motivated to do this. We talk a lot about how the homeless may feel. The whole week they're thinking about them," she said.

Students in her class made fleece blankets for babies and young children in shelters.  Third-grader Julia McDonald said she liked making the blankets.  "We're going to give them to kids who might not have enough," she said. "We learned that some people, they don't have a lot like us."

Students also brought in bags of canned food. Last year, they donated 2,000 pounds of cans.  One day during the week, volunteers organized a snow day for the students. Three tons of ice were fashioned into a snow-topped play zone on the soccer field. The admission charge for each student was a new blanket and a bag of socks.

Blankets and socks are the two most requested items at emergency shelters, said Stapleford   "We could just do a toy drive. Kids would drop off their donations. But they wouldn't talk about it then at home," she said.

One year, a second-grader noticed a homeless man on her way to school. She started a change drive in her classroom. Parents took the money and bought gift certificates at fast-food restaurants for the man.  "Nobody noticed him until we did this event," Stapleford said.