By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Clanton Elementary School is providing a special way to spread love and cheer this Valentine’s Day, while helping the school raise funds.

Volunteers are creating Valentine baskets featuring a stuffed animal and snacks of various sizes to raise funds for new tables in the cafeteria and equipment for the stage.

Principal Rebecca Threlkeld said baskets range in price from $5 to $12 depending on the size of the stuffed animal and candy.

Each basket includes a small information card with a message from the giver.

Baskets for CES students will be handed out at the end of the school day on Feb. 14.

She said the opportunity to purchase a basket for a student is not just limited to CES. Deliveries will be made to Clanton Intermediate, Clanton Middle and Chilton County High schools, if requested.

Community members not associated with the school system can also participate in the fundraiser.

“We are very open to community members buying, you don’t have to (have) a student at our school to purchase from us,” Threlkeld said. “They can come by the school, and we have order forms and cards, everything they might need.”

Those interested in purchasing a basket should ask the employee at the front desk for more information.

The deadline to preorder a basket is Feb. 8.

“If we have extras, people can come in the school and buy them next week between the 11th and the 14th,” Threlkeld said.

She said the project was a way to provide a fun, affordable option at Valentine’s Day for parents and family members.

Her favorite parts are reading the messages that loved ones write to their students and “seeing the students’ excitement.”

Funds raised will be used for new cafeteria tables, sound equipment for the stage and new risers “for our children to perform on when they do programs,” Threlkeld said.

The school’s stage is inside the cafeteria and is used for multiple Art and Music Nights, Soup with Santa and other student performances each year.

Threlkeld said the stage is also used during school assemblies.

The fundraiser had once been an annual event for the school but has not been held for a couple of years.

Clanton Elementary is located at 1000 Cloverleaf Drive.