KINGSTON — When teacher Paula Wood and occupational therapist Cindi Dudley decided to discuss Kingston Junior High’s Functional Academics program with the Kingston Kiwanis, they were hoping for a few small donations and a little more awareness in the community. What they got was $2,000 and a huge helping hand for their students.

“The Kiwanis heard we were going to speak to the Rotarians, and asked us to come,” Wood said. “We did ask for money, and they gave us $2,050. I expected something, but nothing like this. I was crying and when I got back, I started dancing in my office.”

It started when one of the Kiwanis members decided to give $100 to the cause during the Feb. 8 meeting, and it grew from there, said Kiwanis president Debbie Anderson. After putting the checkbooks away, members had given $1,550, and the club as a whole donated $500.

“We were both floored,” Dudley said. “It brought tears to my eyes. I don’t think we’ve ever received such a generous donation. I told Paula, I’ve never been so proud of my community.”

The Functional Academics program at KJH and PJH provides education for students with moderate to severe disabilities, Wood said. The program began in 2004, but it usually takes several years to acquire the materials needed for students, she said.

“We have a limited budget,” Wood said. “There’s a lot of equipment I would love to buy, but we can’t save our budget money from year to year. It’s either use it or lose it.”

The Kiwanis’ donation will go toward learning materials, but the big purchase Wood and Dudley are excited about is an adaptive toilet for orthopedically challenged children.

“We gave an overview of the program, and that the kids are really working on getting into the community,” Dudley said. “We talked about some needs, and the reason for those needs. The toilet was on our wish list for quite awhile. It will help the kids, and make them safer.”

“It was very inspirational,” Anderson said. “This was a basic need, and it’s what the Kiwanis are all about, helping kids in need.”

Wood has ordered the adaptive toilet already, which will be installed soon. It cost $975 on discount, which still leaves a sizeable amount for other learning materials that will help the students’ progress.

“We’re looking through catalogues and picking out things that are on our wish list,” she said. “There are 13 kids I see during some point in the day, and this will help all of them.”