Christmas charities expand student service opportunities
Holiday service is prevalent every year, but for low-income students, giving back can be more difficult.
“Of course I think it’s important for students to help others over the holidays,” said Matthew Moon, a senior majoring in business. “I’m no Grinch.”
“It’s tough to say exactly how students should get involved, because they are busier due to finals, and of course they are poor because they are students,” Moon said. “I think they should work with local charities and church leaders to help fill the needs people have.”
Charity work is one way to provide service.
“I don’t think it would make sense for students to go looking on their own,” Moon said. “Church leaders and local charities usually have much more needs than they are able to fill.”
Shannon Tuck, a senior double-majoring in Spanish and social work, has found a way to help out others during the holiday season. She recently returned from a service trip to Ensenada, Mexico with the non-profit organization Kaiizen.
“The organization that I went down with goes to orphanages all over the world,” Tuck said. “They do this specific Mexico trip to the same orphanage every year around the same time. It is their annual Christmas trip.”
“On Friday morning we went to the school and did Christmas crafts,” Tuck said. “Each grade did an activity like make christmas cards, ornaments, sugar cookies – just Christmasy type things.”
“After we spent the day at the school, we decorated the whole orphanage,” Tuck said. “That night we had a Christmas party at the orphanage where we played games like Fear Factor, which the kids loved. At the end of the night, before bed, we gave out presents one by one.”
To pay for the trip, the members of the group raised money beforehand in order to buy gifts and other supplies to help out the orphanage and the community.
On the trip, the service committee seeked out the needy in the community in addition to helping the orphanage and local school children.
“The guy leading our trip helped find people that were in most need in that community,” Tuck said. “We split our group of thirty into smaller groups of about eight and had a community member guide us to the homes that needed us the most. We brought bags from Costco filled with things like toilet paper, rice, beans, flour and milk.”
Tuck said the area where they were distributing these basic goods was extremely dirty and had no paved roads or
steps to take you up to the houses. The houses were on steep hills which made it difficult to get from house to house and increased the likelihood of injuries.
“We had to go sideways as we followed our guide because it is really steep,” Tuck said. “Our guide fell and broke her ankle. We had to make a splint out of an old towel.”
Tuck found the importance for her trip in how it affected the people she served and how it impacted her life.
“I totally feel like this trip was important,” Tuck said. “It really helps other people to be served. Being served and serving shows love, importance and respect for one another. The volunteers got a lot out of seeing and meeting the people they were serving. It feels good to sacrifice time for something that is better, that we don’t get to do all of the time. That goes for any service done inside or outside our country.”
“The Kaiizen non profit organization is going to India this summer,” Tuck said. “People should look into it.”
While some might feel like joining a charity group is the way to serve during the holidays, others think there are better options to serve during the season of giving without being in the spotlight.
“I don’t think it is better to be part of a charity group because I think some people do charity groups to get recognition and credit for doing charity,” said Isaac Turley, a sophomore majoring in business. “I think some get into charity groups because they just want everyone to see how good of a person they are, but charity groups are good.”
Students have other ideas to help out during the Christmas season besides joining a charity group. Turley said he has been doing Sub for Santa.
“Find people a lot less fortunate and give to them,” he said. “They have boxes all over town where you can donate stuff or get names from the Sub for Santa place.”
Sometimes, starting to help out in a small way can grow to helping more out than expected.
“You never know how simple acts of service may bless and affect people’s lives,” said Tucker Cottrell, a freshman majoring in pre physical therapy and nutrition.
At Sub for Santa there are sleigh rides, hot chocolate and other activities for people to participate in. The homeless receive a fun experience out of this event and get to take what they need with them .
“It is so much fun,” Cottrell said. “It really puts you in a good mood for Christmas. There are different activities for people to participate in. Kids can sit on Santa’s knee or go sledding.”
Because the size the event has grown, Sub for Santa needs more volunteers to keep it going.
“Anybody can help,” Cottrell said. “The whole event wouldn’t work without volunteers.”
He said they usually need translators there for those who don’t speak English.
“The point of this is for people to have fun and enjoy Christmas.” Cottrell said, “Once they have had their fill, they can leave with garbage bags filled with presents.”
– haileehousley@gmail.com