Several Bowling Green and Warren County schools are competing to bring hope to southcentral Kentucky’s abused children and help prevent child abuse with a fundraiser.

In “Buckets of Hope,” students bring change to school and toss it into buckets provided by Purity Dairy. The fundraiser started Monday and will continue through Feb. 5. Proceeds benefit the Family Enrichment Center, whose mission is to empower families and prevent child abuse in the Barren River region.

“We are grant-funded for our programs, but this helps us sustain them. Grants don’t always sustain them,” Family Enrichment Center Executive Director Nickie Jones said. “This is an effort to raise awareness of the problem or issue of child abuse, our agency and programs we provide to the community. We do child abuse prevention service, parent education, child care, crisis child care, support groups, adoption services, in-home parent education and supervised visitation.”

The top fundraising classroom and/or club in each school will win a meal and a Frosty from Wendy’s. The top fundraising school overall will get a visit from NASCAR driver Stuart Kirby, an ice cream party from Bruster’s and gift certificates. Four schools will win prizes, including Parent Teacher Store gift certificates, a Kaplan gift certificate and pampering by Bella Salon and Spa. Individual teachers will be recognized for their classroom donation.

“We sent fliers to all the schools that participate,” Jones said. “They go home to the parents to show we’re doing it.”

Participating schools include Bowling Green Junior High, Briarwood Elementary, Dishman-McGinnis Elementary, Oakland Elementary, Potter-Gray Elementary, Greenwood High, Rich Pond Elementary, Warren Central High’s ROTC program, Plano Elementary, Bristow Elementary, Alvaton Elementary, Warren East Middle, Natcher Elementary, Moss Middle and Lost River Elementary, which raised $1,341.59 to win the contest last year.

“The students brought in money to wear hats. We had Sports Day, Backwards Day and Pajama Day,” Lost River curriculum coordinator Sarah Johnson said. “This year we haven’t done anything like that yet. We’re just competing against classrooms. Next week we may have something different every day.”

Briarwood Elementary came in third place last year, raising $1,238.73. Students bring coins to school to fill the buckets, guidance counselor JoAnna Jones said.

“If parents want to write a check, they can make it out to the Family Enrichment Center,” she said. “There’s a healthy competition from each classroom.”

Briarwood Principal Debbie Richey pledges to do something if the school wins the competition, JoAnna Jones said.

“This year, she will be a sixth-grader for a day if we win overall. She’ll wear a backpack and go to all the classes,” she said. “This motivates the students to bring more change.”

Both schools have participated in “Buckets of Hope” since the fundraiser started five years ago. Their student leadership teams collect the change, explain the fundraiser to students and let them know who’s winning. They want to make sure they support the Family Enrichment Center programs as much as they can.

“It’s a great fundraiser for the kids to be involved in,” JoAnna Jones said. “It goes to benefit children in our own community.”

Johnson agreed.

“The kids love giving to a cause like this,” she said. “While they may not understand all that abuse can entail, they know it’s wrong. It shows they can do something to make a difference in the world.”

Last year’s “Buckets of Hope” campaign raised about $12,000. Nickie Jones said the organization has the same goal for this year.

“It’s kids helping kids,” she said. “A lot of them want to do things to change the community and make it a better place.”

— For more information, call 781-6714 or e-mail fecbg@bellsouth.net.