Fourth and Fifth graders at Fairmount School in Bangor recently participated in the second annual “HOP TO IT” program and donated 1,637 hours of time to help people in the community.

HOP stands for “helping other people” and each student was asked to donate a minimum of four hours, for a school goal of 1,000 hours. Many children, however, donated additional hours.

Each pupil also brought a can of food to an assembly held Monday at the school and the food was donated to the Greater Area Bangor Shelter.

“The program is intended to build the self-esteem of all the students. We firmly believe that helping another person helps develop self-esteem,” said program organizer Bangor Police Officer Dan Frazell.

Frazell teaches the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Eduction) program at the school and said the “HOP TO IT” program was also a way for the students in the D.A.R.E. program to “give something back to the community.”

Students and teachers also worked together to make a quilt that was donated on Monday to the Ronald McDonald House in Bangor.

Frazell said the students performed such tasks as sweeping out a neighbor’s garage, raking leaves, cleaning windows, cleaning up a neighborhood, babysitting for free, cooking a meal, and walking a neighbor’s dog.