Kudos to the kids of Ironton Elementary School for their very generous donation to the Lawrence County Animal Shelter.

Members of the Student Leadership Team had read Newberry Medal-winning novel, “Shiloh,” by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, and were appalled by the way one of the characters treated his dog. So, when it came time to do a community project, they decided to a penny drive for the animals at the county shelter.

From Oct. 9-Oct. 16, students brought it coins and dollar bills. By the end of the drive, they had raised an impressive $1,724.89.

And, with a generous $3 to $1 donation by the non-profit Gigi’s Animal Rescue, that amount went up to $6,899.56 to help with the renovations at the shelter.

That is an incredible amount of money going to help the animals that need so much.

We commend them for turning a sad part of story into a great story for Lawrence County and we thank Gigi’s for more than matching the students’ efforts.