Giving spirit
Greenfield Elementary and St. Eleanors Lions Club celebrating 40 years collecting for Christmas hampers
Max Clark recently opened an early Christmas card from a relative to find $100 inside. Score!
The Greenfield Elementary School student was happy to receive the generous gift – but it also got him thinking.
Do I really need this? Maybe someone else needs it more? He decided to use the money to help his school’s efforts in the Salvation Army Christmas Hamper campaign.
Every year Greenfield staff, students and parents partner with the St. Eleanors Lions Club to adopt 15 families participating in the Christmas hamper campaign. Clark’s donation helped buy four child-sized hockey sticks and four pucks.
He is hoping the donation will “get someone into hockey and put a smile on their face.” “Hockey is a great sport. Some people want to play it but they can’t afford to, so this just gives them a chance to play,” added the youngster. According to organizers, Clark is only one of a number of students at the school who contributed some of their own savings to help purchase Christmas gifts and supplies for the campaign.
“The parents play a big part in this … but the kids in this school bring their own personal money from their own personal piggy banks,” said Karla Love Hickey, the school’s parent and Christmas hamper co-ordinator.
The partnership between the Lions and Greenfield has been ongoing for 40 years and the two groups marked the special anniversary this year. Lions Bernie Gallant and Jack Praught, both of whom have been involved for the 40 years of the partnership, presented the school with a plaque to commemorate the anniversary
prior to picking up its contributions, Tuesday.
“It’s quite a milestone for
a school. No matter who the principal was, vice principal or teachers, they’ve just continued
to do it,” said Gallant.