BRICK – Have you ever brought your kids to the beach but forgot to bring a pail or shovel? Or maybe you just don’t have any beach toys to bring?
Brick Township students have come up with the idea of a “Take a Toy, Return a Toy” to serve anyone who visits Brick Beach III this season.
The colorful toy bin was created by students as part of the Emma Havens Young Elementary School Early Act Club, led by advisors Kristy Soltmann and Kristen Carone.
Early Act Club is a community service club where students give back to their school but also give back to their community.
“We want to start from a young age to show you can give back to others in so many different ways,” Soltmann said.
Some of the things Early Act Club has done are recycling, making cards for teachers during holidays or birthdays, and cheering fellow students on during testing. They also make holiday cards for the local nursing homes, and beach clean-ups.
“When we started out the year, we presented the students with an open floor and we took in what they would like to do,” Carone said. “One of the kids suggested that they wanted to do something with the beaches.”
“They said ‘not everyone can afford beach toys like everyone else,’ so they thought ‘what if we could have a system where they can borrow it and use it while they’re there.’ And that’s how the idea spiraled to what it is now,” Soltmann said.
The group later approached the township and the recreation department to help the idea come to life. The Early Act Club received a donation of lumber and screws from the Home Depot in Lakewood so they could build the bin. Students then decorated the box by painting it vibrant colors. They then hosted a school-wide initiative to collect toys for the bin.
“It was really them doing all the brain power and we were just the person behind the curtain getting all the finishing details done,” Soltmann said.
The toy bin was officially unveiled at the entrance of Brick Beach III at the end of June, just in time for the summer season. Soltmann and Carone were joined by Mayor Lisa Crate and Councilman Derrick Ambrosino along with members of the community to celebrate the project.
“We’re so proud of all of the ideas the students came up with by themselves. We were really just the wheelhouse; it wasn’t our idea it was totally them and we just took their idea and put it in motion. We’re so proud of all of their hard work and dedication this year,” Carone said.
“The fact that they wanted to help out their community and not just themselves really speaks volumes for them. We’re just so proud,” Soltmann said. “This is something they can share with their community and have that bond. It goes to show that no idea is too little; it can really turn into something big once you work as a community together.”
Soltmann explained how they plan to continue the tradition with students and create a new toy bin next year and donate it to another local beach.
“We can’t wait to continue to give back to the community and donate another box for another beach next year. As a school everyone was so happy and excited to be a part of this,” Soltmann said.
