Hamilton County students collected thousands of bags and boxes of donated items for Goodwill during the 2007 Smile Week donation drive, proving that despite their young ages, they know how to give back to their community.

The event was part of a character education lesson on citizenship and is a partnership between Chattanooga Goodwill Industries and the Hamilton County Department of Education.

“This event just keeps growing each year,” said Charlie Stamps, Vice President of Operations for Chattanooga Goodwill Industries. “We are continually impressed with the outstanding citizenship displayed by Hamilton County students.”

A record-setting four elementary schools and one middle school each had 100 percent student participation in this year’s event.

For their efforts, Red Bank Elementary School and the elementary students at 21st Century Academy, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, and Dawn School will receive campus carnivals featuring fun activities hosted by the Tennessee Aquarium, the Creative Discovery Museum, the Chattanooga Zoo and Goodwill.

As the top-performing secondary school, Loftis Middle School students won a live concert that will be hosted by Smile Week sponsor Power 94 at their school Thursday. Randi Doll (“I Ain’t Tryna Be Rushed”), a 16-year-old former Chattanoogan who just signed with World Affiliated Entertainment, is the featured artist.

Classes from 19 elementary schools also earned classroom parties sponsored by McKee Foods Corp., Chattanooga Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Candyland and Goodwill.

According to Mr. Stamps, donations like the ones collected during Smile Week are necessary for Goodwill to fulfill its mission. “We use the funds generated by the sale of clothing, furniture, housewares and other items in our thrift stores to finance our programs and services, which provide job training, medical equipment and other resources to people with disabilities and other disadvantages.”

Nancy Reed, Character Education Coordinator for Hamilton County Schools, said service learning experiences like Goodwill Smile Week are an important component of the school system’s character education program, because they encourage students to make the connection between their classroom studies and the real world.

“Activities like Smile Week help us create an environment where positive character traits are modeled and internalized by students, families and the school community,” said Mrs. Reed. "We're so pleased that our students were able to learn firsthand that helping those in need doesn’t require a lot of money, only time and effort."

Smile Week, which was also sponsored by NewsChannel 9, is again scheduled as part of the Hamilton County elementary schools’ character education program in 2008. Mr. Stamps said there are also plans to expand the program into schools in several of the 22 other counties served by Chattanooga Goodwill Industries.

Chattanooga Goodwill Industries provides job training programs, medical equipment services and other resources to people with disabilities and other disadvantages in 23 counties in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia. To fund the mission, Goodwill collects donated clothing, furniture and household goods to sell in its retail stores and on www.shopgoodwill.com. More information about Chattanooga Goodwill Industries is available online at www.goodwillchatt.org.