Windsor Student's Donation To Family Is Extra Sweet In Des Moines Public Schools

Press release from the Des Moines Public Schools:

May 18, 2021

COVID has taken its toll on everyone, but sometimes when it rains, it pours. For a longtime Windsor Elementary School family, the storm came in the form of a job loss followed by a blaze that destroyed their home.

At the time of the fire, four of Zakaria and Saadia Mahad’s children were at school. Mom, Dad, and their youngest child made it out of the house in time because someone alerted them to the fire. “God sent an angel to knock on our door and save our lives,” Zakaria said on the family’s Go Fund Me page.

Three of the children currently attend Windsor, and one of the girls is a classmate of 7-year-old Olivia Skuster.

“I thought her family really, really needs help, and I thought they could use money to help get supplies and clothes and stuff,” Olivia said.

Neighbors and friends have been contributing money to the family’s account, but the second grader knew she didn’t have a wallet to open. So, she started brainstorming.

It’s no secret people love cookies, so Olivia enlisted her mom and sister to help her bake (and of course taste test) a lot of monster cookies.

“It took like, HOURS,” she said. She doesn’t remember exactly how many cookies they baked but she was satisfied with the outcome.

Customers donated $650 as they picked up their fresh baked cookies over the weekend.

Her teacher, Molly Mitchell, said she wasn’t surprised that Olivia took up the cause.

“Olivia is a very sweet, considerate and compassionate girl,” Mitchell said. “It is not uncommon for Olivia and her family to help others in need.”

The Mahad family has a long way to go to find normal again, but they are finding support in their community. As of May 18, donors had raised more than $8,000, plus $650 in monster cookie money, to help them get there.

This press release was produced by the Des Moines Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.