Student’s bake sale funds art, recess supplies at May Street

“Almost everyone loves treats,” Trudy said. It doesn’t hurt that her mom, Lindsay Gott, owns a bakery, she added.

“We often have students that have ideas to get active for a cause,” said May Street Elementary Principal Kelly Beard. “As educators, we need to encourage them and guide them to see these ideas come to fruition. Occasionally we have a student like Trudy, who needs no encouragement, just point her in the right direction and she takes off.”

Trudy got help from her classmates; fourth graders supplied the baked goods for the first concert, and kindergarten for the second.

“We made sure to check with Mr. Beard, that we could have homemade baked goods because sometimes that hasn’t been allowed,” Trudy said. “He searched the rules and discovered that we could. This was important because we really wanted to sell homemade goodies — they are usually so much better, and the kids could feel a part of it.”

She also partnered with the school’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). “They agreed to earmark the money we earned for our cause and then even sent out an email to let people know that we would have treats at the shows and they needed to bring cash,” she said.

The sale was a success — Trudy and friends Bryar Harris and Skye Weiseth sold 592 items and, since everything was priced at $1, they made $592.

“We were crazy busy,” she said. “We sold out both shows.

“Customers really liked that (the treats) were homemade,” she said. “There was a nice variety — everything from classics to fancier treats. Some were even still warm!”

She credits the bake sale’s success to several factors: The concerts draw a big crowd, students had to walk by the treat table before their performances, and the support her idea received from teachers, the PTO, students and parents, and school officials, who made fliers and donated a plate of cookies to sell.

“We had a lot of practice for our math skills!” she said.

The PTO was so impressed with the results of the sale that they are considering organizing bake sales at other events.

“We’re so proud to have children like Trudy in our May Street community,” said Beard. “Her efforts have paid off and soon May Street will have new art supplies and playground supplies due to her hard work”

She was invited by May Street PE Teacher Stephanie Perkins to pick out items for the playground this week. Art supplies for kindergarten and fourth grade classrooms will be purchased soon.