Evans Elementary art show auction raises $900 for ‘Bottle Caps 4 Books’
What do you do with thousands of recycled bottle caps? If you are the fourth-grade classes at Florence V. Evans Elementary School in Marlton, you create a sea of under-the-water-themed artwork that is showcased in an Art Show Auction on April 23, to support the Bottle Caps 4 Books community service program.
Last October, the fourth-grade classes attended a special motivational assembly that explained the importance of community involvement.
After the assembly, the students in Michael Wojtaszewski’s class knew they wanted to do something to get involved. According to Wojtaszewski, or Mr. W. as the students call him, “The kids wanted to do something special. One suggested selling their art work, and another suggested donating books and toys.”
Ethan Verrone, a fourth-grader in Wojtaszewski’s class, had the idea to use bottle caps for the artwork.
“I always have a water bottle in my desk,” says Verrone, “and I thought there must be a lot of bottle caps around because we can’t recycle those here.” The whole class voted on the project and pretty soon, Bottle Caps 4 Books was created. Before long, it wasn’t just the nearly 100 students in the fourth-grade classes collecting and sorting bottle caps — the whole school got involved.
“We must have had 30,000 bottle caps collected,” says Evans School Principal Nick DiBlasi. “It was wonderful to see everyone get involved, but that is what we are about here. When the kids can get involved, they feel empowered to do something — like young adults — and make a difference. Raising money to help students who might not have as much as our students do is a wonderful thing.”
At the school art show and auction, the theme of the night was “Under the Sea;” each child drew an under-the-water drawing, which they framed by bottle caps. Parents, guardians and guests paid a $3 ticket to attend. In addition, three large pieces of art — a narwhal, dolphin, and clown fish — that were painted and adorned with bottle caps, were auctioned-off. All of the money raised through the tickets and auction — $900 — will be used to buy books and toys for children at a local elementary school in Camden, with which Evans School has a previous relationship.
Wojtaszewski says not only did the students collect the bottle caps and design and create the artwork, they also were responsible for putting the art show and auction together, marketing and planning the event, and acting as greeters for the evening.
