Spirit of Giving 2010




(Pictured above: Yvonne Jin, left, and Kathryn Vezsenyi, co-chairs of the South Grenville District High School Spirit of Giving Food Drive have led a team of students who collected hundreds of items so families in need this Yuletide can enjoy a Christmas dinner.)

(Prescott) – Students at South Grenville District High School are learning the true meaning of Christmas – the joy of giving.

Students at the Prescott school have launched their annual Spirit of Giving food drive and are collecting money, toys and non-perishable foodstuffs so the less fortunate in the community can enjoy a Christmas dinner and presents under the tree.

The Christmas food drive, which kicked off October 28, is conducted annually in partnership with the Kinsmen Club of Prescott. Club members help collect food and money, process applications for the program, and coordinate the purchase of turkeys, eggs, fresh vegetables, oranges and other perishable food. Individual turkeys, trimmings and other items are packaged as Christmas hampers providing enough food for Christmas dinner and to feed a family for an entire week. Each hamper contains age-appropriate toys for children. More than 250 families will benefit from this year’s campaign.

Spirit of Giving Teacher-Advisor Inga Lake said the campaign is teaching some valuable lessons to the students and the community.

“I think the kids really benefit from this positive interaction with the community,” said Lake. “When people see kids out in the community doing something good for the less fortunate it helps them as well as the community. Quite often people have the wrong perception of teens. This gives us a chance to show them how great our students really are.

“And I think it reinforces the character education lessons of empathy and caring for others. Students learn that sometimes we fall on hard times and we need extra help from people in a better place than we are right now.”

The students have collected door-to-door in Prescott, Maitland, Cardinal, Riverview Heights, Maynard, Spencerville and Johnstown and were also on hand to collect food at the recent Prescott Light Up the Night Santa Claus Parade. The Kinsmen have placed collection drums at 28 stores across South Grenville. So far, students have gathered hundreds of items including soup, Kraft Dinner, Zoodles, crackers, dried noodles, spaghetti, breakfast cereal and other non-perishables.

Yvonne Jin, co-chair of South Grenville’s campaign, said the organizing committee has launched a contest to see which Block A class can collect the most food. The winning class will receive a piñata. A bike raffle and a 50/50 draw are also planned.

Each Grade 7 and Grade 8 class at the school has adopted a family from the campaign list and will fill a Christmas hamper for them, said Jin.

The students and the Kinsmen will assemble the hampers at the school starting December 17 and the hampers will be distributed December 18 – the pinnacle of another successful campaign.

“I really like it,” said Jin. “When you see a child who doesn’t have that much, and he smiles because he’ll have a Christmas – it’s just priceless.”

For more information, please call:

Inga Lake
Teacher-Advisor
2010 Spirit of Giving Campaign
South Grenville District High School
613-925-2855