Second-grader has fun while helping at school

Giselle Vandeveer could have opted to bid on any number of items during the Millersburg Elementary auction recently.

The auction was designed as a reward for the students who had earned tickets during the first semester, and the prizes up for grabs as students bid against one another were items like kinetic sand, LED lights, stuffed animals, Play-Doh, candy, a movie and popcorn with one’s class, or even the opportunity to eat lunch with one’s favorite teacher.

Vandeveer bided her time throughout the auction, waiting for one specific auction item to come up.

When it did, she pounced.

What was so valuable that a young student would be willing to bid whatever necessary to get it?

It was spending a day with Millersburg Elementary custodian Sean Hoxworth, helping him clean and perform his duties throughout the day.

What would possess a young lady to set her sights on such a prize?

“I like cleaning,” she said.

At lunch the duo was hard at work cleaning tables and sweeping the floor. They had changed soap and sanitizer dispensers, done some laundry, and taken out the trash, all duties most kids would shrug their shoulders at and try to work their way out of at home.

Instead, Vandeveer relished the opportunity. “This has been great, a lot of fun,” she said.

“She’s outstanding,” Hoxworth said of his helper. “She’s done a fantastic job all day long.”

While she could have been busy playing with any number of prizes that were purchased during the auction, toys come and go. For Vandeveer, a chance to spend a day with Hoxworth doing all of the custodial work was more than enough reward.