NEW BERN, N.C. (WNCT) – At Ben D. Quinn Elementary School in New Bern, students combined their curriculum with community service for their first-ever Care for Cancer event on Monday.

Teachers at the school said the event taught students how to give back and also honored the legacy of one teacher at the school, Lynn Barnhill.

“You never knew how sick she was, I mean, she was at school literally a week before she passed away, and so it’s just amazing, and so we wanted to do this particular project in honor of her,” said Michele Owens, a fourth-grade teacher. “She was an amazing, amazing teacher and she would leave here in the afternoons to go have chemo and there were certain things she always needed with her.”

The students made care packages that included items like blankets, ChapStick and mints.

“We came up with the idea of making these care packages for new cancer patients. It’s a very scary time for them and we just want to show them that there’s somebody thinking about them and give them some things they might not have thought they needed,” said Ashley Morton, a fourth-grade teacher.

After raising the funds for the packages, the fourth-grade students had to put their math skills to the test, calculating the quantity and price to make the care packages.

“This is all the things we need, this is how much it costs, how many packages do we need to buy, how much is it going to cost us and then adding everything together,” Morton said. “So incorporating our multiplying, adding, subtracting standards as well as decimals, so we’re able to cover a lot within this project.”

On Monday morning, the students gathered in the library to put the packages together.

The bags will go to the Hope Foundation, which will distribute the care packages to those undergoing cancer treatment.

At the end of the day, it is not just a math lesson, but a life lesson, Morton said.

“How important it is to give back to our community, you know? Just little things can really make somebody’s day. You never know what somebody else is going through,” she said.