As the holiday season nears, Student Council and Dean’s secretary Evelyn Amelio are dedicating their time to giving back to the community.

“We are working to help struggling families get Christmas gifts,” said Student Council president Krista Knuckey. “Our goal for this project is to help 50 families or kids.”

This goal will be only possible with the support of other organizations in the school.

“We ask different clubs and teams to sponsor a child and they either use their funds or raise money on their own. Each person has a list of gifts they would like,” Knuckey said.

The hope is that Student Council will make the holidays a positive experience for everyone.

“We want to bring happiness to everyone and remind people that not all of us can afford gifts,” said Student Council member Prav Bains.

Meanwhile, dean’s secretary Evelyn Amelio is bringing the spirit of giving into the school.

“I am organizing a gift giving program for our own students and families who are in extremely hard financial situations. Last year was the first year,” she said.

While Amelio is the sole person in charge of the project, she has received help from many others in the school.

“PSP and student pass runners have been a huge help,” she said. “Last year was spectacular. We received over 200 gifts for needy students and their immediate family members.”

Aside from the holiday spirit, there are other motivations behind dedicating time to help others.

“I was inspired by the responses from the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. I realized families in our school need help, and I thought, why not start in our own backyard?” Amelio said.  “The holidays can be depressing; for some they’re a reminder of what you don’t have. It troubles me that some of us have so much while others struggle to put food on the table.”

Despite the work and time Student Council and Amelio are putting in, the benefits outweigh the stress.

“We’ve gotten letters from some of the families who have been touched. One lady was pleasantly surprised because she had absolutely no other means to buy gifts. It’s very rewarding,” Amelio said.