Our school offers many ways to help this holiday season: THS Gives, partnering with The Salvation Army, and Sharing at Christmas.
As the holiday season approaches, gratitude and joy are in the air. Many people don’t know how to help, what to do, or where to go. Tupelo High School encourages its students and community to contribute in their own ways to help.
The Salvation Angel Tree allows volunteers to “adopt” one or more children and buy the things the ‘’angel” requested. Volunteers select paper tags with children’s names, ages, and needs, which are hung on Christmas trees in public spaces such as malls and stores. At THS, this tree was found in the Media Center.
But what happens with those kids that don’t get adopted? Well, the sad reality is that they don’t get anything, since The Salvation Army would have to raise more money to buy what they need.
About 12 years ago, Ms. Anna Garner, THS Art Teacher, noticed that “there were so many children not being able to get adopted, and she knew something needed to change.
Ms. Garner has been teaching at Tupelo High School for 17 years.
“Whenever I would tell people that I teach in Tupelo, they would look at me and ask me how I do it; they thought that the students here were bad,” Ms. Garner said.
Ms. Garner said she wanted the community to know that Tupelo High School students were not as bad as they thought, and she noticed that many kids were not being adopted in the angel trees. So she had this idea: THS Gives.
THS Gives is a project where both students and teachers can donate money to fund those Angels that are not being adopted. The goal was to raise $2,000 over 2 weeks, from December 1st to December 15th in order to provide gifts for 20 unadopted angels. This year, the school fell short of its goal but still raised $ 1,400 for the Salvation Army.
Another way Tupelo High School encourages its students and teachers to donate this holiday season is through an additional collaboration with The Salvation Army.
Volunteers ring bells outside businesses and malls, and in this case, outside the cafeteria in H building.
Shariya Brim, a senior at Tupelo High School, has participated in this activity.
“The first time I participated, of course, I was nervous, because for some people it’s kind of embarrassing to just be outside a building and ring a bell and see people pass you”, Brim said.
After the first time, she reported feeling more comfortable.
People may not have money to donate, but there is still a way people can help without spending money: Sharing at Christmas from the Collision Repair class.
“We take donated bikes, used bikes, and we, the students and I, fix up the bikes, and then we give them away,” collision repair teacher Mr. Derek Bradley said.
Mr. Bradley and his Collision Repair class have done Sharing at Christmas for 10 years. For 10 years, he had encouraged his students to help people by “hands-on” experience.
“I tell them that they are able to use their hands, no money, use their hands and their talents to make good,” Bradley said.
He thinks the importance of this project lies in “community awareness, self-fulfillment, and selfless service.” He explains that this is a way for the community to see more of the students and ‘ties the students with the community.”
Mr. Bradley also wants to let the community know that, even though the bikes are not new, they have been put together and tested for “safety and accuracy”.
Holden Hamilton, a student who has recently participated in this project, expresses that the importance of this is, “it will help families that struggle to get Christmas gifts.”
So, in this holiday season, when everyone is so obsessed with receiving, let’s not forget about the ones who normally don’t receive and make a difference.
