STAA students seek support to publish book

MARINETTE – The sophomore students in Debra Kirgan’s English class at St. Thomas Aquinas Academy in Marinette are reaching out to community members to ask for help in making their dream of publishing a children’s book come true.

Mrs. Kirgan, of Kirgan Farms, shared a story with her students of an ugly hen that was picked on, and then adopted by the turkeys on the farm. The students are writing a children’s book about this lonely hen. (See letter below.)

“Dear Community Members and Families of STAA,

The Sophomore class has undertaken a project for which we could use your help. We are writing a children’s book based on a true story, and we are hoping to have it published. The book is going to be called The Lonely Little Hen. We are hoping that you would consider contributing to the funding of this project, as the costs of publishing are very high.

The goal of publishing this book is to share the story with our elementary school children, and the public. We would also like to provide a copy for our possible sponsors so you can see what your contributions have allowed us to do. To provide a copy for our elementary school children, we would need 18 copies. We are going to provide a copy to each child in the grades of Pre-K through Kindergarten, and one copy for each class in First Grade through Fifth Grade. To show the public our hard work, we would also like to provide two copies of the book to our annual STAA auction fundraiser.

This is a huge undertaking for our class, which is exactly why we need your support. Any money that you could contribute would be greatly appreciated as it will enable us to share our book with those that we think would love and benefit from it most. Please make out checks to Saint Thomas Aquinas Academy. If you have any questions, please email Debra Kirgan at debkirgan@staa-edu.us. This is the email address of our Sophomore English teacher, who is supporting us in our endeavor and providing us with the support we need,

Sincerely,

Ally Behnke, Production Manager.”

Kirgan Farms, which inspired the book, is also launching a nonprofit project called Eggs for All. Eggs for All began when it became apparent that community food banks normally did not receive donations of fresh eggs, Debra Kirgan said.

“Although food pantries are supplied with dried goods and canned food, fresh food is much harder to come by,” Kirgan said. “Local grocers will provide some vegetables and fruits, but eggs are rarely available to those in need of support. Eggs provide much-needed protein to round out a healthy diet and can be served alone or provide the necessary ingredient for a variety of recipes.”

Eggs for All has been providing enough eggs to help about 30 families per week with no outside financial assistance, but their goal is to increase that number to 300 families and individuals. As a result, Kirgan decided a nonprofit had to be established in order for the program to grow. She started a GoFundMe account for Kirgan Farms to raise money for the registration of the 501c3 with the IRS, so the program will be able to pursue both private and public grants. Donations are to be used for the care of the hens, packaging and transportation for eggs and expansion of the program, Kirgan said.