When I was a young child, my grandmother and I used to listen to Paul Harvey’s The Rest of the Story. Harvey was an American radio journalist famous for filling in the blanks of popular history. As his time on air wrapped up, he’d close with the same satisfying sign-off: “And now you know the rest of the story.”
Well, here’s ours.
Behind the scenes of the 2025 Christmas Toy Market, something meaningful was quietly adding up. After 92 volunteers finished serving and cleaning up, after the tables and the drapes were returned, and after Freddie Lane and his crew had every last bin back in the Flourish Food Pantry warehouse, we counted the proceeds and cut some checks.
KeAndra Kimball and I sat down with representatives from four Springfield elementary schools—Pittman, Bingham, Weller, and Wilder—and handed each of them a check for over $400.
For schools operating on tight SPS budgets, outside funding, big or small, can be the difference between ordinary and memorable. These funds allow teachers and staff to do special projects, celebrate attendance and performance, and create the kind of school culture that makes kids actually want to show up.
So this spring, if you’re driving past one of those schools and you spot a bounce-house in the parking lot or a group of kids chasing a brand-new ball across the yard, you will know the rest of the story.
