Instead of celebrating Christmas by receiving, this year the high school Interact club is celebrating Christmas by giving. Through Operation Christmas Child, sponsored by the Samaritan’s Purse Organization, Interact filled 13 boxes (for the second year) for children overseas who may not receive a Christmas present this year. Items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, puzzles, stuffed animals, Barbie dolls, coloring books, crayons, socks, underwear, and packaged food filled the boxes that soon reached the hands of children, ages 2-14 across the world. This year, some boxes went to Ecuador; the destinations of all the boxes are unknown. Not only did the students involved with Interact make the project successful, but Mr. and Mrs. Butler, the Woods/Drafting teacher and Culinary/Personal Finance teacher, filled two boxes on behalf of their family.
This International project is only one of the many projects Interact has completed, and will continue to complete throughout the year. Other projects include multiple spa days for the residents at Prairie Pines, a dictionary delivery to third graders on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and a community wide coat drive. Collection boxes located at the high school and Walmart received approximately 30-40 coats that were then donated to the Police Department following the coat drive. The school resource officer, Officer Aaron Chrisman, has been giving the donations to members in the community that need a warm coat for the winter.
