Making an Impact: The Bargain Box of Hilton Head Brings Student Projects to Life
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- Aug 1
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 27
The Bargain Box of Hilton Head has been a steadfast and generous supporter of the Foundation for Educational Excellence for many years. Their continued contributions have made it possible for thousands of Beaufort County students to engage in creative, hands-on learning experiences that ignite curiosity and foster a lasting passion for education.
With their support funds donated by the Bargain Box contributed to these recent projects:
“A Bench of Buddies” by Jennifer Friend-Kerr from Hilton Head Island School for Creative Arts
“STEM Stories Unfold: Cultivating Curious Minds in the School Library” by Kim Waters from Port Royal Elementary School
“Get Your Library Search On!” by Beth Minton from Hilton Head Island Elementary
“Bluffton High School Expanded Learning Environments” by Karen Gareis from Bluffton High School
“Sensory Path” by Susan Heid from Beaufort Elementary School
“Building Fluency Libraries” by Kristin Hibbet from Coosaw Elementary School
“Take Out Anyone?” by Heidi McAllister from Hilton Head Island High School
“Magnetic Math” by Eve Weaver, Caroline Arrowood, and Victoria Hardy from Robert Smalls Leadership Academy
“Buenos comunicadores/Bons communicateurs” by Irma Rameizl from Hilton Head Island Middle School
“Dictionary Detective” by Jacquelyn Barnwell from St. Helena Elementary School
Cultivating Growth, Friendship, and Communication
This season’s grants supported by the Bargain Box of Hilton Head included three dynamic projects led by passionate educators, each one aimed at empowering students through creativity, collaboration, and cultural exploration. From fostering empathy on the playground to cultivating gardens and growing global communicators, this year’s funded initiatives reflect the foundation’s commitment to real-world, student-centered learning.
At Hilton Head Island School for Creative Arts, Jennifer Friend-Kerr launched a heartfelt project titled “A Bench of Buddies,” inspired by the children’s book The Buddy Bench by Patty Brozo. This initiative engaged students in a design-thinking process that combined literature, engineering, technology, and social-emotional learning.
Students worked in teams to create prototype “buddy benches” using recycled materials. These benches became symbols of inclusion and friendship, each painted with original student artwork and logos representing values like empathy and kindness. The students also applied their design skills using Google Draw to digitally visualize their concepts.
Beyond the creative process, the project measured students’ growth in compassion through pre- and post-project surveys. The results were clear: students demonstrated increased awareness, empathy, and willingness to include others during recess - key indicators that this initiative made a lasting emotional and social impact.
Science came alive in the soil at Bluffton High School, where Karen Gareis and her students transformed tough terrain into a thriving green space through the Expanded Learning Environment project. Despite battling fire ants, sand gnats, and sandy soil, students successfully planted 36 native plants, many of which are already blooming and attracting butterflies and pollinators.
This outdoor initiative wasn’t just about gardening - it was about creating a lasting space for education, reflection, and school pride. With 65 bags of mulch on the way and weather-dependent Storywalk signs ready to be installed, the garden is quickly becoming a hub for student activities. A Gardening Club, sponsored by the AP Environmental Science teacher, will continue maintaining the space, and graduating classes are planning to leave commemorative contributions to the garden - making it a living legacy at Bluffton High School!
Irma Rameizl’s project at Hilton Head Island Middle School brought multilingual literacy to life through the bilingual book Mia en Perú / Mia au Pérou. In her Buenos Comunicadores / Bons Communicateurs project, students explored connections between French, Spanish, and English while building literacy skills and cultural understanding.
Through strategies like choral reading, echo reading, and audio-assisted listening, students not only improved pronunciation and fluency but also deepened their comprehension. Engaging higher-order thinking questions and a culminating writing and speaking group project helped students reflect on and apply what they learned. Both novice and advanced language learners found joy and challenge in the project, and many students successfully created and presented original stories inspired by Mia en Perú.
Celebrating Educational Excellence
The Foundation for Educational Excellence’s Fall grant cycle demonstrates the powerful impact of targeted funding in the hands of dedicated educators thanks to generous funding from local organizations like the Bargain Box of Hilton Head. Whether building benches of friendship, transforming landscapes, or inspiring multilingual storytelling, these projects go far beyond traditional instruction - they shape students into empathetic leaders, innovative thinkers, and global citizens.
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