Schulte Students Use Birthday 'Presents' to Help Others

Instead of getting birthday presents for themselves, Bria and Luke Wright ask their friends to help them help others.

Bria, 8, and Luke, 6, of Sturtevant, both attend Schulte School, and using their birthdays to help others has become a tradition.

Their mom, Mary, said when Bria was turning four, she was so excited about her upcoming party and the presents she would get that Mary knew it was time to make a change. Dad, Chris, is a Sturtevant trustee.

"We want them to think outside themselves and do something for the community," she said. "They already have so much and they get birthday presents from family as it is."

Bria recently celebrated her eighth birthday, and she asked her friends to bring stuffed animals to donate to the Sturtevant Police Department so officers can hand out the animals to children in crisis. Bria and Mary presented three bags of animals Wednesday to Sturtevant Police Chief Sean Marschke.

"For kids involved in serious car accidents or, like what we deal with most often, a domestic situation, giving them a stuffed animal they can hold helps a lot," said Marschke. 

All village squad cars will get a supply of animals, he added, so officers have them handy if needed.

Bria said her mom helped her come up with the idea of the stuffed animals. She said she hopes the animals will help other kids not be scared.

"It makes me feel better to hug my stuffed animals and I hope these will help other kids not be scared or sad," she said.

Luke's sixth birthday involved collecting flashlights for the American Red Cross to help volunteers in power outages. Mary said he was very excited to visit the Red Cross to deliver the flashlights.

"We try to visit the organizations so the kids can meet people and get a sense of how they're helping," she said.

To recognize Bria and Luke, Marschke has invited them both to ride in the Sturtevant squad car in the 4th of July parade down Main Street in Racine.

"It's kind of cool," he said. "I want them to know they're doing good things."