It's the holiday season

Students across Odessa are taking part in a wide variety of charitable events this holiday season.

Fifth-graders at Goliad Elementary started out early this year by collecting and donating 1,649 nonperishable food items to Servants of the Poor.

“It feels good to be helping others because it is the nice thing to do,” Goliad student Ashley Hinojos said after the drive.

Other elementary schools, including Blackshear and Austin Montessori among others, have plans for canned food drives, winter coat drives and other things planned for the holiday season’s spirit of giving.

Reagan Elementary has collected 135 coats during its “Coats for Kids” drive, collected more than $600 in coin collections for United Way and gathered boxes of toiletries, drinks, food and clothing to send to overseas soldiers for Honor Our Troops. Reagan also has scheduled a Cans for Kids drive and its annual Rainbow Room collection that gathers snacks, drinks and diapers for families in crisis. The Rainbow Room is just across the playground from Reagan, and students will walk their donations over to deliver them.

“I think it’s good for our kids to participate and see that everyone has needs,” Reagan principal Andrea Martin said.

And the charity drives aren’t just at elementary schools.

The Bowie Junior High cheerleaders are participating in the Salvation Army Angel Tree. The cheerleaders will pick an angel from the tree and fulfill that child’s wish list for Christmas. For others wishing to participate in the Angel Tree program, the Angels Trees are located at Music City Mall and two West Texas State Bank branches, 2426 Grandview Ave. and 1501 W. University Blvd. respectively.

“I think it’s important to give children the chance to give to others if they’re more fortunate. When I was younger I didn’t think we were going to have a Christmas and someone stepped in and we did. Now I’m able to give, and it’s important to let children experience that joy of giving,” Salvation Army caseworker Kim Carpenter said.

Other elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools in ECISD will be participating in canned food drives, coat collections and various other activities to try and help those in need during the holiday season.

Members of the Students in Philanthropy at Odessa High School have been volunteering at various nonprofit groups since the beginning of the school year, but the requests for help have increased significantly as the holiday season approaches.

“This is usually the time of year when everyone realizes there are more people in need out there,” Students in Philanthropy teacher Stephanie Tercero said. Eighteen students in the philanthropy class work on charity throughout the year, but things get really busy around the holidays. People call the week before or the day before to ask the students to come out and give them a hand.

The students in the class, admitted by recommendation, not only learn the importance of giving back to the community, but they also learn how to run a charity organization. Acting as a working board, they are required to understand parliamentary procedure and will even have written nonprofit grant applications by the end of the school year.

“I wouldn’t say it’s more important (to give during the holiday) because it’s always important, but charity gets more attention during the holidays,” vice president Bailea Nimmons said.