It's just about time for the holidays! As counselors, our work extends beyond the classroom walls. I know many of us put together a holiday help program for families in need of a little extra assistance. I have mentioned that I put together a Giving Tree Program, and a lot of readers have asked me to post more about it. I thought we could do a Blog Linky Party so that other counselors could also share what they do and how they do it.
How do you participate?
- Create a blog post titled: "Putting Together A Holiday Help Program" and answer the questions below
- Paste the Linky Party logo from above at the beginning of your blog post
- Submit your blog post link below (please be sure to link your actual blog post, not your blog homepage)
Our program is called The Giving Tree. We identify families who are in need of support during the holiday season. We collect presents from teachers and community members and deliver them to our families who have been identified. We try to buy each child a combination of clothing, and a fun item (toy/game/movie/book), and a gift card for the family to a grocery store.




Last, but not least, I make sure to follow it up every year with a letter to all those who helped out. Here is what I had to say last year:
Hello Lansing Family,Thank you to everyone who has helped out this holiday season. It has been very gratifying to come into work each day and see the mountain of presents grow higher and higher. It definitely has been been the bright spot amidst all the news coverage of the terror and sadness of Sandy Hook School incident. It reminds me that there is good in the world and we do live in a community that is concerned about everyone in the village. The holiday season is special. Not only is it a time to spend with family and friends, but a time to stop and reflect on all of life's blessings.
At the Middle School, we have been working on the theme, "What YOU Do Matters." We have been working on Random Acts of Kindness, and working on ways to make the world a better place. I am reminded of the story of the starfish that were washed upon the shore after a huge storm and the little boy who walked along the shore throwing them back into the sea one at at time. After some time of doing this a man went up to the little boy and said, "little boy you are wasting your time, surely you can't pick up all those starfish, you can't make a difference." But, the boy picked up another starfish, threw it back into the sea, and said to the man, "I made a difference to that one."So, I thought that I would share with you, all the starfish in our sea. I'd like you to see for yourself the spirit of our community in coming together, in showing concern for others, the love within our hearts, and how what we do, does matter.
Happy holidays everyone. Thank you, for everything.
So, that is our Giving Tree Program. I hope it inspires you to do something to help out in your school.
Don't have a blog, but want to share? Join in the discussion by one of the ways below:
nice
ReplyDeleteWow! I have been doing the same thing at my school for years, calling it an angel tree. However, I have faculty sign their names under the tags on the tree when they take one, that way I know for sure who took each tag. If not, we would have no way of knowing who didn't return the items they pledged to bring in. To do this, I number each angel tag on the tree and also write the same number on the tree underneath it. That way, if a teacher picks up tags # 2 and 3, she would sign her name by those numbers on the tree when she picks it up. When all the tags are gone, the numbers are still written on the tree and I can see who has which tags! :)
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