Middle School Students Host Hand-A-Thon

[gtxvideo vid=”UmQ52EVV” playlist=”” pid=”rkijshg2″ thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/UmQ52EVV.jpg” vtitle=”Hands”]

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — On Friday, students at Crossroads Middle School hosted it’s first Hand-A-Thon to help students in need. For students at Crossroads Middle School, it’s a day to give back by turning plastic into dreams. “Just seeing the joy on someones face and changing someones life is great,” said student McKenzie Smith. Led by teacher Chris Craft, Smith and her classmates, Carson Ellis and Corbyn Player, taught dozens of other students how to build prosthetic hands for children in need. They used a 3-D printer and then assembled the parts together. “It’s really exciting because some people haven’t experienced this feeling before and I think everybody should experience this because it’s just such an amazing feeling,” said student Carson Ellis. Since the fall, the trio and Dr. Craft have given a hand to one young girl in South Carolina. They said it created a feeling that tugged at their emotions. “It brought tears to our eyes because it was just such a happy moment and she was so happy that she got the hand, it was just a really happy moment,” said Smith. “It’s really exciting because they‘re excited and sometimes you get teary too,” added Ellis. “It feels really good to know someones getting the hand that you‘ve made and that you‘re the one whose done this and it’s going to change their life forever,” said student Corbyn Player. And to keep changing lives is what the students aim to do. They planned to produce roughly 20 prosthetic hands with their classmates on Friday to send to kids across the country and right here in South Carolina. “It is inspiring to me to watch them choose to be life changers,” said Craft. It’s a gift they hope to keep giving for many years to come.