Holiday service projects
Clubs Bring Holiday Cheer to GreenvilleBY PATRICK UHLMAN ON DECEMBER 19, 2013
The holiday season is generally known as a time about being kind and generous, and more about giving rather than getting. At Rose, the faculty and students are finding ways to get into the holiday spirit of helping others.
Several volunteer service projects are being done by the clubs and athletic programs. Among these are Toys for Tots, Operation Christmas Child, Salvation Army bell-ringing, and Letters to the Troops. The Salvation Army bell-ringing is the most popular service project, since the majority of Rose clubs and the sports teams are participants. The groups will work together to participate in the bell-ringing on Dec. 21 at various local locations. Although the bell-ringing is a relatively less interactive volunteer service, the Salvation Army has had plenty of success for over a century now with the help of their volunteers, and the money raised is used to help feed and house people who cannot do so themselves. Because of its simplicity, it is an easy choice for clubs at Rose to decide to take part in and still make a difference. Senior Mo Blackwell has served with the Salvation Army for several years through his little league team. “I’ve rang bells multiple times for the Salvation Army,” Blackwell said. “It’s a good organization and raises a lot of money for those in need.” Social Studies teacher Stephanie Noles is the service chair for Link Crew and helps organize projects for the club to participate in; this year their services were the canned food drive and Toys for Tots. The canned food that Link Crew gets goes to the collective Rose food pantry, and the toys gathered for Toys for Tots are given to a local television station and the collection ran from Dec. 2 through Dec. 9. “Even though Rose has a Toys for Tots bin this year, we have always donated to the television station,” Noles said. “Since we have a relationship with them we’re going to continue doing that.” This year SGA will be hosting an open invitation holiday party on Dec. 19, which will be followed by Christmas carolling at Cypress Glen. SGA has also filled 30 Stockings for Soldiers and 200 boxes for Operation Christmas Child, which both are programs that send supplies internationally to help those in need. “You get a mixture of toiletries and/or toys and put them in a package and ship them overseas,” senior class president Erin Naziri said. SGA will also be decorating bulletin boards around campus and handling the school Christmas tree in the media center. Overall, the cumulative contributions from Rose and all of its counterparts are quite substantial. Through multiple projects from the Salvation Army to simple christmas carolling, the students and staff here have put in their time and effort to help make a difference for those who need it most, both locally in our hometown and around the world with multi-national programs to help the troops and the needy around the world. HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
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