Western New York Students get into the Spirit of Giving
By LAURA RUMSCHIK
NeXt Correspondent
December 31, 2009, 6:41 AM

The winter holiday season is the season of giving, when people and schools go into overdrive to spread cheer and make the holidays better for the less fortunate. This year is no different, as high schools in the area have taken part in a variety of activities, already yielding great results.

Here is a sampling of what some high schools in the area have done:

Kenmore West’s Community Club held a holiday party for 180 needy children and their parents. The children were busy with games and prizes, holiday crafts, decorating cookies and filling a bag of goodies for their mothers.

“At the end of the party, each child received a shopping bag overflowing with presents from Santa, as well as a hat and gloves. Student Council did a food drive, and each family also received boxes filled with groceries for their holiday dinners,” said Kevin Kruger, assistant principal at Kenmore West.

Tonawanda High School held a similar event – Christmas for Kids.

“Students volunteer to play various roles such as Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and the Grinch. Midway through the event, Mrs. Claus reads a Christ-mas story for the children, and then they all get to meet Santa Claus and tell him what they want for Christmas,” said sophomore Colin Reboy. “The children also get to interact with the Grinch, and this year, I played Willy Wonka and passed out candy canes and Christmas Wonka candy.”

Schools often take traditional food drives and expand the program to motivate students to donate. At Canisius, for instance, each item donated is given a point value and students strive to contribute 20 points each. Not only is food collected, but other useful items such as diapers are welcomed for points, too. St. Joe’s holds a competition among homerooms for its annual Food Basket drive for the Warming House in Olean.

Williamsville North had a goal of 7,000 cans of food. Each year if the goal is met, teachers dress up in holiday costumes at an assembly on the last day of school before break. The Challenge Club at North participated in the Adopt-a-Family Program and raised over $450, which was used to purchase over 20 gifts for a family of eight living with AIDS. The club raised funds for this project by selling paper cut-outs for $1 for students to sign and display in the school.

The food drive at Park School was held from Thanksgiving to the day before winter break. About 600 cans were brought to Gospel Expansion, an organization run by the Rev. Otis Tillman and his wife. It provides food, clothing and toys to underprivileged and homeless families in the Buffalo area.

Park School junior Maddie Connors helped to deliver the food with the Student Council. “Meeting them and seeing how pleased they were upon our donation was a fantastic feeling; the firsthand observation of the difference we made in our community was more than fulfilling,” she said.

Mount St. Mary Academy wrapped 101 shoeboxes filled with presents for children in three age categories.

Campus Ministry Coordinator Helen Scimeca explained how the project began last year by mistake: “There was a misunderstanding that another charity would take the shoeboxes, but since we had the gifts already, I called up St. Luke’s Mission and they were here the next day to pick them up. When we heard back from the mission, they said that the little children would open their gifts immediately after receiving them. The excitement was prolonged when students had wrapped the presents individually inside of the box.”

Samantha Reinhart, a senior who contributed to this project, said, “My friend Katie and I thought it would be nice to work together and set up a gift for a young girl. We put in a couple coloring books, a toy horse, some jewelry and a couple small teddy bears. After it was wrapped and set with the other boxes, we could see how much our small effort would make a difference in someone else’s life.”

Dozens of teddy bears were donated by teacher Maureen Ellis, and other teachers made available gifts that they could add to a student’s box, evidence that the school worked together to make a difference.

Mount St. Mary’s also encouraged students to pledge a gift of their time, service or talents throughout the weeks leading up to Christmas. Students decorated the fronts of cut-out paper ornaments and on the backs wrote down their gift. The suggestions could not be wrapped or put under a tree, but by “being king to someone having a bad day,” or “smiling at a stranger,” students pledged to brighten someone’s day during the holidays. The ornaments were hung on a tree in the student dining room as a reminder of the spirit of the season.

Senior Kathleen Daley started a clothing drive at Mount St. Mary’s. The inspiration came from a trip to New Orleans last summer with the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York. While stationed at All Souls Church, she had the opportunity to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina who were still dealing with the aftermath.

“One day we had to distribute clothes ... that were donated to the church, and some of the clothes were in horrible condition. I thought it was not fair. These people needed more than that, and were entitled to nice clothes,” she said. “The people of New Orleans inspired me to try and do good, to give back.”

Her family will pay for the shipping for all clothes collected.

Students at Starpoint High School participated in yet another unique fundraiser called Santa Claus for a Cause. They deposited spare change into jars for different teachers during lunch periods. The winning teacher with the most money, Danielle Porter, was voted the best Santa and chose the SPCA to receive the $200 collected.

Alden High School also collected money, which went to Alden Meals on Wheels and Toys 4 Tots, among other charities. One of the most creative projects at Alden was baking cookies and decorating for Christmas for Hospice.

Most of these schools are collecting pennies for KISS 98.5’s School Spirit Contest to benefit Women&Children’s Hospital as well.

It shows that once the bug hits and opportunities become available, students will pull together to support those in need during this wonderful time of year and have fun while doing so.