Fifth-grader Piper Budrow, awaiting the start of Friday’s “Thanks and Giving” festivities inside the Oakwood School gymnasium, succinctly summed up the annual school-wide holiday event in her own words.
“It’s important because if a family doesn’t have food, then families that have food should give to the ones that don’t so they can have a Thanksgiving dinner,” explained the 10-year-old student in Aaron Thompson’s class.
That’s precisely the point Oakwood faculty and staff want to hit home with their more than 400 students – who sat together as one big, happy family for a serving of pumpkin pie before heading home for the holiday break.
“Every student comes with some piece to give to the community,” said Michelle Helvey, Head of School for the independent, non -sectarian, college preparatory school serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. “Everybody’s done a little of something to make this happen.”
The 121 assembled care packages, which will be distributed through Community Solutions, a local social service agency, has staples for a complete Thanksgiving meal including dried mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, stuffing, pinto beans, rice, and, for the main course, a $20 gift card towards purchasing a turkey.
“That’s what it’s about,” added Thompson, sitting at the head of one of several long tables set up in the gym, where students enjoyed pie, listened to some festive music and video accounts from classmates and staff about what they are thankful for this holiday season. “(Giving back) is pretty much ingrained into them here from when they’re little. It’s what they’re used to.”
Another component of Oakwood’s school-wide effort was to collect toys, games and children’s books and donate them to the El Toro Youth Center, which will distribute them among its families. Oakwood students collected 1,433 items this year.
“Just bringing in the books and stuff for the kids and families make me feel really good,” said fifth-grader Aiden Kendall, 10, who also enjoyed getting together with the entire school to “eat pumpkin pie and watch the video they put up.”
Across town at LOHS, about a dozen student members of the Future Business Leaders of America gathered Monday morning inside a small food services building on campus, where they began to assemble 125 boxes of canned and dried foods for the club’s largest community service project of the year.
“(The families) are so thankful for what we provide for them,” said FBLA President Morgan Teddleton, a 17-year-old senior who has been involved for three years and part of the special home delivery crew for two years.
The FBLA, made up of about 60 LOHS students, collects monetary and food donations from classmates at school and community members, puts together large apple bins filled with about 60 pounds of canned goods and other staples for a complete Thanksgiving dinner and then delivers the holiday packages directly to the recipient’s Morgan Hill homes.
The families are identified by Morgan Hill Unified School District staff from each of the eight elementary and two middle school sites.
“The reason I do it is because many of these kids really don’t see poverty,” said Kiki Nakauchi, a retired teacher who, for the last 30 years has spearheaded the Thanksgiving effort at LOHS. “The whole purpose is I want the kids to go out and see the conditions that some of the students and community live in … some live in places you would not imagine.”
Driven by members of the Lion’s Clubs in Morgan Hill and San Martin, students load up vehicles the day before Thanksgiving and make their rounds. In addition to all the meal fixings and a 10- to 12-pound turkey, each family also receives a grocery bag filled with items including potatoes, rice, beans, tortillas, cake mix, a loaf of bread and a large container of laundry detergent.
“The delivery is probably my favorite part, just seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces,” shared FBLA treasurer Whitney Waller, a 17-year-old senior involved with the effort for three years. “I’m going to continue [volunteering for the holidays] through college and beyond.”
Junior Elizabeth Ha, 16, Vice President of Public Relations for the FBLA, has helped collect donations and package groceries in the past. But this is the first time that she’s a part of the delivery team.
“I’m really excited,” Ha said. “It’s a little piece of me that I’m giving back to the community.”
One particular delivery remains embedded in Teddleton’s memory.
Last year, Teddleton dropped off food for a family of 10 who was living in “a shack, not a house.” The mother said she was going to try to stretch the contents of the package “for a few months.”
“It really helps the kids understand their community, giving back and making them aware of what they’re thankful for this holiday season, and that not all families are privy to what they have,” said Tiffany Fuller, chairperson of Oakwood’s Thanks and Giving event. “It really drives home that point.”
