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Marion High School - C.B. Vernon
Middle School - Francis Marion Intermediate - Starry Elementary -
Emerson Elementary - Bright Beginnings Preschool - Marion Home School
Assistance Program
Winter 2006/2007
The Giving Spirit
During the holiday season,
students and staff in the Marion Independent School District
had several opportunities to help others. A district-wide
clothing, food and gift drive has become a tradition among
the buildings. The gift drive is especially rewarding.
Families in need provided a “wish list” for each family
member. Classrooms, groups and individuals throughout the
district “adopted” families anonymously, then purchased and
wrapped gifts during the weeks before Christmas. All of the
families who were adopted have students who attend this
district, and who just needed some help to make the holidays
a little better.
Some groups came up with
unique ways to fund their gift purchases. The classes of
Melissa Cannon, Kim Knapp, Melanie Donohue and Ann Wicke,
from FMI, joined forces to adopt several families this year
and held a “Read-a-thon” to raise money to purchase gifts.
Each class shopped together after school and then wrapped
the gifts for their families.
Students spent part of a class period
wrapping gifts at FMI.
At Marion High School,
tags containing a family number and a gift idea were placed
on the “Giving Tree”. Each day during lunch, students were
encouraged to take a tag from the tree, purchase and wrap
the gift and return it to the Student Health Office.
Mrs.
Hamous is barely visible in her office as gifts get stacked
higher and higher!
The FBLA (Future Business
Leaders of America) held a clothing drive to provide new or
gently used clothing to families in need.
Food drives were held at
each of the buildings, and the food was taken to the high
school to be sorted into boxes for each family.
Other groups raised money
to purchase perishable food items and things such as laundry
detergent.
All of the boxes of food
and gifts were staged and delivered from the auditorium at
Marion High School. Things really got busy when the
deliveries took place! Everyone helped load and unload, and
the deliveries were completed during the week before Winter
Break.
Several “elves” volunteered time and trucks to deliver the
holiday gifts.
“This year 85 families
with students in the district were helped,” said Michelle
Wilson, district social worker. Michelle and Nancy
Alderdyce, district nurse, coordinate the event each year.
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