North Salem’s youngest students have an added incentive to put their best feet forward in school this year. Each time they are “caught” doing something good, they will receive a ticket that contributes to a donation of $1,000 to the charitable organization Friends of Karen. The effort is part of the school’s behavioral expectations program, Tigers CARE (Cooperate, Act responsibly, Respect each other, and Expect honesty), in which children earn tickets to receive a variety of acknowledgements, such as having their names announced on the PA system, or telling the “Joke of the Day” during morning announcements.

The new element, Tigers CARE – We Share, expands the program to introduce the concept of philanthropy. “The theme now includes the idea of giving to others, rather than only receiving personal acknowledgements for their positive behavior,” says school psychologist Dennis Tendler.

The school mascot, Cubby the Tiger, joined Friends of Karen events coordinator, Gwen Salmo, at a recent assembly to launch the initiative. With Cubby urging them on, the 600 students drove the target number of tickets they should earn this year to 40,000 – slightly higher than the number achieved last year. The $1,000 is actually a donation from area opticians, Raymond Opticians.

“Earn your tickets, and you’ll get the satisfaction of helping others,” Ms. Salmo told the students. Friends of Karen is a North Salem-based organization that helps families of critically ill children in the tri-state area pay for medical expenses, transportation to treatments, and assistance with household expenses, among other necessities. “You are making a big difference by making people’s lives a lot easier,” Ms. Salmo said.