Le Roy Food Pantry & Help Fund

Sarah Luetticke-Archbell, 8, presents a donation of fleece blankets Tuesday to Judith Ridley, coordinator of the Le Roy Food Pantry & Help Fund. Sarah bought the blankets with funds she raised by selling homemade chocolate-chip cookies.

She may be only in third grade, but Sarah Luetticke-Archbell already has a well-developed gift — for giving.

That much was clear on Tuesday, when Sarah, 8, donated rolled fleece blankets — 37 in all — to the Le Roy Food Pantry & Help Fund.

She bought the blankets with funds she raised by selling chocolate-chip cookies during Le Roy’s Winterfest celebration on Dec. 5.

The idea was all her own, said Sarah, who attends Wolcott Street School.

“I really wanted (needy families) to get blankets for the winter so they wouldn’t get cold,” she said. “I wanted them to be warm — that’s why I got blankets instead of toys.”

Sarah is the daughter of David and Greg Luetticke-Archbell, who own Frost Ridge Campground in Le Roy.

David Luetticke-Archbell said Sarah first raised the idea for a fundraiser three months ago.

“I didn’t really grasp how strongly she felt about it,” he said. “She stuck with it.”

Sarah baked 40 cookies on her own, with a little parental help with oven temperature and timing. Sarah’s siblings — Christopher, 12, and Sophia, 9 — helped mainly by staying out of her way.

Although they did buy one of the cookies, which Sarah sold for $1 apiece at Village Hardware. She also accepted donations, and ended up raising $194.

She bought the blankets at Kmart. They were delivered Tuesday, stuffed inside an oversized, holiday-wrapped gift bag.

Judith Ridley, food pantry coordinator, was touched by Sarah’s act of generosity.

“I think this was fantastic,” Ridley said. “I think it is fantastic that she has an understanding of what it means to give, and to share with other people.

“She’s got that in her little heart right now, and it’s only going to continue to grow.”

The blankets will be given to children this winter.

“If we can match them up with children, we’ll give them out this year,” she said. “And if not, we’ll put them in storage and give them out next year.”

Ridley said the Le Roy Food Pantry & Help Fund serves about 25 families a month. It also delivers packages of food and gifts to area families every Christmas season. Ninety packages — which included gift certificates for either a turkey or ham — were delivered last Saturday.

The Food Pantry & Help Fund is open from 10 a.m. to noon Mondays through Thursdays in the basement of Town Hall, 48 Main St. It is open to residents of the Le Roy School District.

For information call (585) 768-4559.