Fund a Need campaign helps Huntington students build confidence

December 4, 2024

Ashley and Arthur left Huntington Elementary School’s gymnasium full of confidence after building plastic skyscrapers in their physical education class.
 
Hundreds of Huntington students enjoyed similar proud moments in November and December during cup stacking activities. They increased their hand-eye coordination, improved their problem-solving skills and learned about teamwork through the cup stacking challenges.
 
Ashley and Arthur joined a dozen other second grade classmates on mats on the gym floor one afternoon. Ashley beamed as a picture of a 12-cup-tall formation came up on a projector screen. She raised her hands to display why those were her favorite type of cup structures to create.
 
“I like to build it tall, tall, tall,” she said.

 
Arthur said he liked building things with the multicolored cups, especially if they formed curved walls. Did he have any advice for first-time cup stackers?
 
“You just have to focus and make sure you place them in the right place,” Arthur said.

 
Physical education teacher Gwen Zedrick learned about cup stacking challenges when she attended a physical education conference while in college. She began leading P.E. classes at Huntington in 2023, and former Kooser Elementary School teacher Shayla Ruth shared her materials with Zedrick to use in her classes.
 
Huntington Principal Kristi Schirmer enjoyed watching Zedrick teach cup stacking during a formal observation last year. Schirmer suggested Zedrick use the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools Fund a Need program to purchase the school’s own set of stacking cups for students to use.

The Foundation’s Fund a Need program is a crowdfunding tool that connects donors to identified classroom needs. The Foundation raised the entire $684.16 that was requested within two weeks through a D F Dillon Foundation grant. Those funds allowed Huntington to buy the new equipment in time for students to use this year.

 

Zedrick said she was impressed with the reaction to the Fund a Need campaign.
 
“It was a really simple way to ask the community to support our schools,” Zedrick said. “The response was amazing.”
 
Younger students like Ashley and Arthur spend much of their time solving challenges with the cups. They began one class by looking at pictures of different ways to stack six cups on a mat. One photo showed a vertical formation and others featured lines of cups. They then had to solve the puzzle in a certain amount of time.
 
The solutions became tougher after each student expanded their lineup of cups. They grinned as they built formations with nine and 12 cups in speedy fashion. Ashley said it was fun to match the pictures right in front of her.
 
“I can do something big and small, and I can do my best at it,” Ashley said.
 
Older Huntington students have stacking cup competitions in their classes. They race to see who can first build the structure that is shown on a screen. Some of the six-cup tests are simple and can be done in less than ten seconds, while towers with nine or 12 cups can be more complicated to complete.

 
Zedrick said students benefit from cup stacking in many ways. Researchers have discovered that cup stacking activates both sides of a student’s brain, which develops new connections that encourage brain growth. This helps them enjoy greater success in academic, social and emotional arenas.
 
Students of all athletic abilities are able to compete head-to-head with their classmates, which raises self-confidence and increases their willingness to set and achieve goals. Zedrick’s students also complete several tests with partners during each class, which boosts communication and teamwork skills.
 
Zedrick said cup stacking also helps to heighten everyone’s self-esteem in school.
 
“We’re working on saying kind words to ourselves,” Zedrick said. “This is a new challenge for them. Some of them find it easy right away, but most find it pretty challenging, so we’re practicing saying kind words as we’re working on a challenge. We’re learning how to learn without getting frustrated at ourselves.”
 
Zedrick said she is grateful to have firsthand knowledge of the positive impact that Fund a Need campaigns make in the community. She said smiles from students like Ashley and Arthur are reminders of the generosity found in Lincoln.
 
“It’s really great,” Zedrick said. “It’s nice that we were able to get a great donation and have our own equipment.”
 
The Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools is sponsoring more than 35 Fund a Need campaigns throughout the school district. The requested items range from musical instruments for elementary students to shoes for high school athletes.  

To learn more specific Fund a Need Campaigns or other ways to support LPS, visit the foundation’s website at https://www.foundationforlps.org/. 
 
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