Good news: Eight Northshore school rooms were greeted with checks totaling nearly $3,500 when students and teachers returned from spring break this month.

These funds are an educational outreach by the East Lake Washington District (ELWD) of Garden Clubs, celebrating 50 years of service to our community this year. This project began in 1995 for high-school classes in the six local school districts where ELWD has members.

In 2003, the program was renamed “Give Kids a Hand” and extended to include classrooms K-12, now serving approximately 150 schools. More than $22,000 has been raised and given to 45 schools over the last eight years.

The main goal of this program is to encourage hands-on student activities as part of the classroom curriculum … activities in gardening, horticulture, landscaping, the environment and other enrichment opportunities.

Nancy Stafford, ELWD’s “Give Kids a Hand” chair