Dec. 19, 2024 5:10p
(WGTD)---Examples abound across the area this holiday season of generous giving to benefit the less fortunate.
At Somers Elementary, enrollment this fall increased by 100 students as a result of KUSD consolidation. So did the number of families needing help.
A holiday assistance program that’s been in place for the past 10 years seemed to fill the growing need, according to a longtime teacher at the school, Justine Jerry.
She tells WGTD that parents, staff, former students and community members all came together to provide Thanksgiving meals to 14 families, and fulfill the Christmas wish lists of nearly 30 families. The Somers Fire Dept. helped out as well.
In advance of the holidays, the school sends out two sets of emails: One seeking donors and another asking parents if they’re in need of assistance.
Jerry told us the survey uncovered growing housing stability problems, and a number of parents who fit the category of ‘working poor'. "They're meeting their needs but if we can make their holidays special...that's what we're able to do," she said.
Along the way, the volunteers discovered that four students in one family were sleeping on the floor. They were able to raise enough money to buy a pair of bunk beds and all of the bedding to go with.
Expressions of gratitude serve as payment. "We handed one family...this one mom a box of diapers--and the tears!," Justine said. She had just run out of diapers.
The holiday giving campaign also enabled the school to restock some of the shelves in its emergency clothes closet, Jerry said.
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