A family in the Caledonia area gives back to kids in the community

CALEDONIA, Miss. (WCBI)-  A family in Caledonia gives back to their community this weekend by providing students with new tools to express themselves.

“She was very excited when she got that call I gotta tell you,” said Winters.

A call that could change the future for some art students at Caledonia High School.

A few months ago Caledonia Native and long-time Umpire Jack Starr passed away leaving his siblings and mother with his and his late wife’s possessions.

His family sold and donated many of the items, but there was one thing that Starr and His wife loved more than anything… their ceramic collection.

Starr’s Sister, Michele Winters says after they saw all of the supplies they wanted to give it to someone that would love it as much as her brother did.

That’s when the family reached out to Caledonia Art teacher Katye Baldwin.

“I guess we hit Caledonia at the right time because this young girl that is up there she is big in ceramics and she flipped out and she had been trying to get funds through the school system and they just weren’t there so it was perfect timing for her and she jumped right on it,” said Winters.

“I went through the roof and I was so excited because had been trying to build a ceramic program here for the past 4 years,” said Baldwin.

Baldwin says after being a resident and teacher in Caledonia for 4 years she realizes that the community really cares about the future of their kids.

“I thought that it was so great that the community thought of us. They could’ve gone anywhere to donate it but they called us and it just lets the students know that the community cares and they want to see good things come from our town,” said Baldwin.

With over 400 ceramic molds and other supplies, Baldwin can’t wait to watch her students grow in the classroom.

“This will allow these students to have an experience that they would’ve never had otherwise. Slip casting is something that you would do on a collegiate level but this will allow these students to do something a little different,” said Baldwin.

Winters says she knows that her brother and sister-in-law would be proud to see students getting used to their collection.

“We’ve lost him but things live on,” said Winters.

Some Staff and the Art Club of the school hosted a small dedication around 3 today as a small token of their appreciation to the Starr family.

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