NORTH LIMA - Some South Range High School students skipped classes Friday afternoon - not for a trip to the mall, but for a lesson in humility and gratefulness as they delivered Christmas to some local families.
"This is a very important service project," National Honor Society Advisor and high school English teacher Lisa Toy said.
She should know since she participated in the Mitten Tree project when she was in high school. The project sponsored by the National Honor Society has been around more than 25 years, but Toy said it's grown over the years.
N.H.S students had the task of delivering bags of food, personal hygiene products, household cleaning supplies to 32 families living in the school district, along with toys, clothing and school supplies for 70 children ranging in age from 14 months to 18 years old. The gifts were overflowing - an obvious sign of the generosity of the community.
"To me it's pretty emotional because I can see how giving this community is," Toy said.
Around Thanksgiving, the trees loaded with mittens appear throughout the area, with this year's trees located in the lobbies of all three school buildings, C's Waffle House, North Lima Pharmacy and the Greenford Cupboard.
Each child receives three gifts: an outfit, a special wish and school supplies. Each family receives a gift card from Sparkle Market and bags of food, personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies, with a total of seven bags, for example, for a family with one child. She said the number of bags increases with the size of the family.
"We had more families who needed help this year," Toy said, explaining they were afraid people might have to cut back with their giving due to the times. "The community really came through."
Members of the community took some mittens and they received monetary donations to help cover the rest. They were able to meet every request.
As part of the Mitten Tree project, the elementary school and high school had food drives and the middle school had a household and hygiene product drive to collect donations for the families being helped.
For the students, she said it gives them a chance to help fellow students who may sit next to them in class. They may not realize what their fellow students are going through and this gives them a sense of accomplishment while also making them grateful for what they have themselves.
"It's a good feeling to see how generous people can be," she said.
Mary Ann Greier can be reached at mgreier@salemnews.net
