When 205 kindergarten students at Greensville Elementary took a field trip to Swift Creek Mill Playhouse in Colonial Heights last month, Elliott Sadler said he felt as if he were there. He wasn’t, but if not for his financial help, the kids might not have been there, either. “It’s probably special to them,” Sadler said. “It’s definitely special to me. A lot of kids might not have the opportunity to do that. I feel like I’m a big part of the reason they have the means to do that.” Each grade at Greensville is covered by a sponsor in a program called C.A.R.E.S (“children are really extra special”). Sadler adopted kindergarten when his niece Halie enrolled at the Emporia school last fall. The sponsorship follows the class through graduation. “The commitment he’s made is not a one-shot deal, it’s for 13 years,” said Dr. Bill Mueller, the school’s principal. “For Elliott to come on, we’re just tickled to death.” Besides helping pay for travel to plays, museums and other events, sponsors also supply T-shirts. Sadler’s class was dressed in the multicolor array of his primary sponsor in the Nextel Cup Series. “The kids look like a bunch of M&M’s,” Mueller said. “A lot of them were NASCAR fans anyway, and they love getting involved in it.” Sadler said he “sends a bunch of M&Ms stuff all the time” and has read to the children along with his sister and sister-in-law. The school is arranging to bring Sadler and his show car for a visit before the end of the school year. “We’re from a very small town, and that very small town has been supportive of me and my family a long time,” Sadler said. “We’re trying to give back to them.”(Richmond Times Dispatch)(5-12-2005)
