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Kindergartner Empties Piggy Bank To Pay For Classmates’ Milk

Ishpeming, Mich. (CBS News) — Two weeks ago, a 5-year-old girl named Sunshine Oelfke , emptied out her piggy bank onto the living room floor and immediately sta...
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Ishpeming, Mich. (CBS News) — Two weeks ago, a 5-year-old girl named Sunshine Oelfke , emptied out her piggy bank onto the living room floor and immediately started “counting.”

Her grandmother, Jackie Oelfke, thought she was playing as she carefully lined up stacks of nickels, pennies and dimes — but then she saw the girl stuff the coins and crinkled bills into a plastic bag and place it in the front pouch of her backpack.

“That piqued my curiosity,” Oelfke told CBS News. “Nobody messes with the piggy bank.”

After observing Sunshine at work a few minutes longer, Oelfke decided she needed to find out why the little girl decided to break into her savings.

“What are you doing with that money?” Oelfke asked her granddaughter.

“I’m taking it to school,” Sunshine replied.

The little girl finally spilled the real reason why she needed the money.

“I’m going to take it for milk money. I’m taking it for my friend Layla,” she explained. “She doesn’t get milk — her mom doesn’t have milk money and I do.”

Oelfke’s heart sank and melted at the same time.

The 5-year-old was raised in a non-traditional household, Oelfke explained. Her mom is a drug addict and has been in and out of prison.

Kindergartner Empties Piggy Bank To Pay For Classmates’ Milk

“She’s going to have enough issues growing up with this,” Oelfke said. “I’ve never told her she can’t do something, and I didn’t want to start now.”

Last week, Oelfke and Sunshine met with her teacher, Rita Hausher, at Birchview Elementary School and handed her the $30 the kindergartner had saved.

There are 20 kids in Sunshine’s class and about half don’t get milk. It costs $0.45 a carton. The total adds up to about $180 a month for every child in the class to have milk every day during snack time.

“Milk is important in our family, so it’s very important for Sunshine’s friends to have milk with her,” Oelfke said.

Read more here.

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