Riverview’s life skills class is the home of craftsmen.
Specializing in woodwork, accessories and T-shirt making, students put their skills to the test when they sold their wares at the recent Pittsburgh’s Handmade Arcade event.
“We do a lot of career development stuff and financial literacy through selling different things,” said Michael MacConnell, Riverview seventh through 12th grade life skills teacher.
For the third year, his students hosted a table at the event Saturday. This year’s products included woodwork specialties, including ornaments, gift card holders and lanterns.
MacConnell said the ornaments were a big hit, selling out by the day’s end.
The table raised more than $2,000 for the school’s inclusive bocce team. The program is part of the Special Olympics’ Unified Champion Schools program, promoting social inclusion by pairing students with and without disabilities.
This will be the fourth season for the bocce team at Riverview, MacConnell said. The team’s first home game will be held Dec. 18.
The students were among 250 vendors and more than 10,000 shoppers at the event.
“They absolutely love it,” MacConnell said.
While students sell their products at different community events throughout the year, MacConnell said, Handmade Arcade gives them a larger group of customers to socialize with, take orders from and help shop.
It also helps the students to be able to see their work reach a wider audience, MacConnell said.
“To prepare for it,” he said, “you have to have materials which can get quite expensive.”
To cover those expenses, MacConnell received a $250 MAC Grant from local McDonald’s restaurants.
“The MAC Grant ended up funding the cost of a lot of the wood, wrapping material and ribbons,” he said.
Having started in the district in 2010, this is MacConnell’s 15th year at Riverview and eighth year at the high school.
Students sell their products year-round on their website at madetolearn.net.