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Students Compete With Ideas To Better Their Community

ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) - Some Colorado children are coming together to improve their school and community. They got to pitch their bright ideas like they were contestants on the show Shark Tank.

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When the PTA at Weber Elementary in Arvada had some extra money they turned to the students to find the best way to use it.

"All my friends want to get rid of books that are just collecting dust, and all my friends want some new books," said 4th grader Bella Lockhart.

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Bella Lockhart and Alexa Anderson (credit: CBS)

Bella and her teammate, Alexa Anderson, came up with the idea for a free community library.

"I want this library because it will help people with their fluency," said Alexa, also a 4th grader.

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The idea of the competition was to get kids thinking about what the school and surrounding community needed. Teams came up with ideas like blankets for people experiencing homelessness, and making lessons digital so sick children can view the videos online.

Bella's plan for a community library came after she found her love for reading.

"I found a book and it just sparked magicalness and I'm hoping it can spark magicalness for every other kid that takes a book," she said.

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The judges awarded Alexa and Bella an honorable mention and are hoping to find a way to get the community library built on the campus.

Before the results Bella said she'd still be excited even if she didn't win.

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"If we win, of course I'm going to be super excited and if we don't win I'm going to cheer on the team that did," she said.

The winner had a idea to offer lesson plans and money to high schoolers who can tutor elementary students who are struggling with math.

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