PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — A group of mostly second graders at Lincoln Elementary School in Port Washington has raised more than $130 selling handmade rubber band bracelets to help repair their broken playground.
The decades-old jungle gym has been closed for most of the Fall due to rust and exposed metal that made it unsafe for students to use.
Watch: Port Washington second graders raise over $130 selling bracelets to fix their school's broken playground
For months now, Milo and his after-school friends Jackson, Adalynn, Marlowe, and third grader Norah have been taking action.
Every day after school, the students have been creating rubber band bracelets in the school's gymnasium. What started as a fun activity quickly became a serious fundraising effort.
"We have a new kid in our class... and she hasn't been able to play on the playground, and I think everyone should be able to," Milo said. "We switched it to one dollar (per bracelet) because I don't think anyone's gonna want to pay for a two-dollar bracelet."
The young entrepreneurs have cornered the school market, selling their bracelets to classmates and teachers throughout Lincoln Elementary.
Principal Jane Gennerman said she was taken aback when the students approached her with their donation.
"A group of second graders hand me a baggy full of cash," Gennerman said. "This is an example of a group of students that took doing really good things even further than just in their classroom or playing on the playground. They took it to the point of trying to make an impact in a larger way, and what a cool thing."
The school patched up the playground this week, and it is now reopened for the time being. Officials are still waiting on permanent replacement parts they've already ordered.
The students' money will instead go to the school's parent organization to help with future renovations.
"I want to sell them, but I also want to make the world better," Milo said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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