DT Gives Back

This holiday season many groups at the high school are finding ways to give back to the local community.

Sophia Caltagirone, Reporter|December 20, 2021

Caring and Sharing Baskets had a great turnout this year. Teachers, their classes, and their clubs/activities brought in donations, filling the entire counseling office to help those in need in our district.

While most people associate the holidays with buying gifts for friends and family and eating countless cookies, for many families, the holidays can be more difficult.

In an effort to support local families who may need a little extra help during this time of the year, many Dallastown clubs and activities have found ways to provide that help.

Here’s a look at just a few ways Wildcats are giving back this holiday season.

Counseling Office: Caring and Sharing Baskets

The Dallastown High School Counseling Office has been doing the Caring and Sharing Baskets for three years. The Caring and Sharing Baskets are paired with gift cards as well. The baskets are for Dallastown students and families that are in need during the holidays. Counselor, Kerris Bouchillon, says “Our donation baskets are well rounded – we take donations for Thanksgiving food items, non-perishable foods, hygiene products, cleaning items, etc.”

A candid photo of people shopping at the Fashion Club’s thrift store. The Club made a little over $1,000 this past week selling second hand clothing. (Sophia Caltagirone)

Fashion Club: Clothing Drive

In its first year at DHS, the Fashion Club hosted an in school thrift store December 13-17 during lunch and after school. Proceeds went into the Fashion Club’s budget, and all the clothes that weren’t purchased will be donated to shelters and organizations in need. Club members were excited by the turnout, raising over $1,000 in a week to support their club’s mission of sustainability in fashion.

High School Cafeteria Staff: Life Skills Class

Dallastown’s high school cafeteria staff adopted one of the Life Skills classes for Christmas for the first time- hopefully making a new tradition. Cafeteria worker, Susan Eckert, says “We usually gather food items for community meals for those in need. Ms Wolfe was talking to Mrs. Christas and thought we could gather gifts for ‘our’ kids this year.” Basically each student in Wolfe’s class filled out a flyer asking them their favorite color, snacks, hobbies, clothing sizes, etc. Then, the cafeteria staff ‘adopted’ the students and gave them a little bit more warmth this holiday season with presents and joy.

In the front lobby a Toys for Tots box is being filled with lots of toys for children this holiday season. (Sophia Caltagirone)

JROTC: Toys for Tots

Dallastown’s JROTC continued their annual participation with Toys for Tots this year, collecting toys to “deliver hope and the holiday spirit to less fortunate children.” The Marine Toys for Tots Program has been helping children since 1947. According to Major White, boxes were placed in the lobbies at all Dallastown schools to collect new unwrapped toys and they will distribute those toys to children at Christmas.

Leo Club: Christmas Food Drive

The Dallastown Leo Club helped Dallastown families in need during the holidays by providing them Christmas dinners through the Food Basket project. They collected food until December 10th. Officer Grayson Lauer says, “The Food Basket project is a non-perishable food drive. We are collecting food items and hygiene products outside of Ms. Godfrey’s room.” Lauer says that the Leo Club has been helping our Dallastown families have warmth during the holiday season since at least 2016.

Student Council: Gifts for Families

Dallastown Student Council gives to 2-3 families each year for the holidays. President Michaela Long says, “they are families within the district who are unable to financially pay for a Christmas for their families” staying completely anonymous to students. Student Council communicates with families to buy, wrap, and devier all of their presents. The only responsibility for the family is to give a list of the ages of the children and a list of what the children would enjoy opening on Christmas morning. Depending on the budget, Student Council typically also buys a bigger gift for the parents or the family as a whole. Long says, “We have been doing this for a very long time. It’s something I look forward to every year and the families are always so thankful.”

Student Council: WellSpan Reach Out and Read Program

Dallastown Student Council also will contribute for the first time with the WellSpan Reach Out and Read Program. This program provides both brand new and gently used books to children six and up which is through the Thomas Hart Family Practice. Long says, “It’s a way to help them bond with their families by reading together, and hopefully bringing happiness into their life during a difficult time.” Student Council will be giving to kids within the hospital and kids who are coming in for their well visit through WellSpan. Books will be collected up until the holiday break.

Unified Club: Soap and Washcloth Drive

Dallastown Unified Club is giving back for the first time this year to Bell Socialization Services, a place where the homeless can stay for 30 days as a temporary shelter. They gathered bars of soap and washcloths from December 3rd – December 16. Club president, senior Olivia Martin, says “The Unified Club is all about inclusion and working together. So, once we collected the donations, we worked together on tying them together with a small piece of ribbon.” Martin and the club wanted to make sure that even if some were not able to donate, they were still be able to contribute. The club was able to donate over 300 soap and washcloth bundles to those in need.