Read more about students serving others during the holiday season.
The entire McAuley community, students and adults alike, “paid it forward” during the month of December. Three simultaneous outreach programs were planned and had wonderful participation.
Each Wednesday in December, students contributed their spare change to donate to McAuley’s Guardian Angel Fund. This fund was established in order to help cover tuitions costs for students whose families are experiencing major difficulties. It may be that a parent passed away, or lost their job, or had extremely high medical costs for a particular family member. It was gratifying to see the current students donate so that other students could keep their gift of a McAuley education.
Donations of a different sort were made by many, many MERF angels via our Adopt-a-Child program. These individuals and groups of folks contributed 80 gifts to the Toyful Joyful Christmas party. This gathering was held on December 18 for 500 inner city school children who had worked very diligently and exhibited good behavior in school. The children were treated to a nice lunch and a new gift from Santa. The party was so big that it was held at the Duke Energy Center downtown. McAuleyans provided basketballs, footballs, Barbie doll sets, friendship bracelet kits, craft kits, and nail/make-up kits for the children.
Other donations were made through McAuley’s Adopt-a-Senior Citizen effort. They fulfilled the wish lists of 20 senior citizens through the Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly. This nonprofit organization located in Mt. Airy reaches out to many elderly people in the neighborhood who are lonely and feel isolated. These seniors are taken to the Little Brothers Friends Center where they can participate in activities and create friendships with others. The McAuley community donated water filters, razors, robes, slippers, puzzle books, sweaters, socks, cologne, deodorant, and even empty flower pots that the recipients had requested.
MCAULEY HIGH SCHOOL