Lehighton Area Elementary Center received a $5,000 grant on Friday courtesy of a local community grant from the Walmart Supercenter in Mahoning Township.

Store manager Girvin Janicki said he had collaborated with K-2 principal Aaron Sebelin in the past, helping the former Mahoning and Shull-David schools with gift cards for supplies and other items, leading to Lehighton’s successful grant request.

“The company, through the grant program, is trying to make a larger impact this year on the communities it serves,” Janicki said. “To us, there is no better way to make an impact than to invest in our children.”

The two sides of the elementary center will split the money, with K-2 getting $2,500 and grades 3-5 getting $2,500.

Sebelin plans to use the money to purchase outdoor supplies for the playground such as hula hoops, kick balls and goal posts in order to enhance the different types of games students can play at recess.

Melissa Volcskai, principal of grades 3-5, said she is looking into Padcaster Studio equipment. According to its website, Padcaster helps transform an iPad into an all-in-one mobile production suite through accessories such as microphone kits, a green screen, teleprompters and varying lenses, among other items.

“We’d love to see the students doing mock news shows and talking about the things going on in their community,” Volcskai said. “It all goes back to our speaking and listening standards. It would also get the older students a jump on the video editing they’ll do at the middle and high school level.”

The equipment, Volcskai said, isn’t anything that she would normally request in a department budget, meaning grants like the one from Walmart are the only possibility to make such a purchase.

While the playground supplies could be something the school asks a group like the parent-teacher organization to help finance, those funds can now be used in other areas.

“We have a very active PTO, but by not having to ask them to purchase this type of stuff, they can keep that fundraising money going toward filed trips and the other things they support throughout the year,” Volcskai said.