Spearheaded by the school鈥檚 ME to WE club, 91原创 Secondary students are delivering Christmas to three struggling families this December.
鈥淲e raise money through the school, doing different bake sales and coin collections,鈥� explained AVID, English, and Social Justice teacher Meagan Wood. 鈥淭hen we go out and buy different things for the families, and we get to wrap them and send them (to the families).
The club, primarily made up of LSS students in Grades 10 to 12, identify families in need and how each family is comprised.
鈥淲e kind of know their ages, their genders, and how many siblings are in the home, and if it鈥檚 a single-parent home, so we can do something for the parents, too,鈥� Wood said.
Giving families in need extra support at Christmastime has become a tradition at LSS.
鈥淲e do it each year, but this year is our first time taking it over as the ME to WE club, officially,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 new to us.鈥�
As of Nov. 29, the school community had raised nearly $600 for the families, with the campaign still in its early stages.
鈥淚n previous years we鈥檝e raised a couple thousand dollars and have been able to bring in more families (to help) after the fact,鈥� noted LSS teacher Kendall Sewell, another ME to WE leader.
The families being helped usually include students from LSS and its feeder elementary and middle schools.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always someone within our school community,鈥� Sewell said.
Anonymity is key and the students, 鈥渙ut of the goodness of their hearts, are able to take it and run with it,鈥� Sewell said.
Through working and interacting with the students in the club, Wood has realized just how giving and selfless the teens can be.
鈥淵ou see how much kids really do want to give back,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淚 think they are more aware and empathetic to issues in their community than we often give them credit for. Sometimes they don鈥檛 know how to empower (themselves) and take action.鈥�
Sewell added, 鈥淭his is a platform and they just need a little bit of framework and a little bit of structure.鈥�
With this in mind, Wood said fundraising for families has been student-led, with the teachers taking the role of facilitators.
鈥淭hey make it happen,鈥� Wood said.
For example, on Nov. 29, a student was in the process of writing an email to the 91原创 School District office to see if district staff would be willing to get behind LSS鈥檚 efforts of creating hampers for the families.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e the ones composing the emails, they鈥檙e the ones doing the legwork, and they鈥檙e the ones who contacted our family of schools, asking for names,鈥� Sewell said.
鈥淭hey know there鈥檚 a good cause and they want to go after it. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 really cool about working with all these kids, is, they are passionate about making a difference in even the smallest way,鈥� Wood noted.
The LSS students who are part of the club are enthusiastic about the cause.
Grade 12 student Liisa Hazell says she has a lot of empathy towards the world and its problems. 鈥淚 really just want to make a difference. I don鈥檛 want to be one of those people who believes that one person doesn鈥檛 really make a difference. It only starts with one person and this is an opportunity for me to be more confident and take on a leadership role.鈥�
Reaching out to families in need and helping them enjoy the season is also important to Grade 10 student Sarah Blessing.
鈥淓veryone deserves a Christmas,鈥� she said.
