With the Christmas season on the horizon, many of us are beginning to consider what we want. Even though excitement for Christmas presents is in the air, we can’t forget about those who are less fortunate. Thankfully, here at St. Dominic, there are many opportunities to give to those who can’t afford presents, clothing and more. Over the past month, our community has offered a Turkey Bowl, Adopt-A-Family and a Coat Drive to help care for those in need.

During the Thanksgiving season, NHS held a Turkey Bowl. The Turkey Bowl provided a wonderful opportunity to donate money to families that could not afford Thanksgiving meals.

“The students were excited to help. Service is one of the qualities of NHS, and raising money to help families in our area reflects who we are as members of NHS and St. Dominic,” said Goins.

In just two empower hours, the group raised $180 dollars.

“The fundraiser was a fun and successful event. Despite a short timeframe and eLearning day, the students did their best. Most importantly, I am impressed by the generosity of our school community,” said Goins.

More recently, Mrs. Johnson and the Outreach club has offered help to families that cannot afford Christmas presents through Adopt-A-Family. This opportunity allows people to donate to needy families that can’t afford Christmas presents. Johnson has been involved in  the Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service and the Adopt-A-Family program for many years. Thanks to the help of Outreach and our St. Dominic community, each person is guaranteed at least three presents and a Christmas dinner.

“I even got a text on Christmas day from the dad of one family, ‘BEST Christmas EVER! Thanks!’ Enough said!” said Johnson.

At the end of last week, Mrs. Roberts, Abbey Jennings and the rest of FBLA wrapped up the Coat Drive. These donations provided people stuck out in the cold with coats to help them through this harsh weather. Roberts suggested the Coat Drive for the first time last year.

“The FBLA leadership team and I were inspired to go through with it for a second time because of a few reasons, one of which is realizing how blessed the Saint Dominic community truly is. Unfortunately, many in our community struggle to properly clothe themselves or their children during the winter season. The FBLA team really took this issue to heart,” said Jennings.

Jennings and Roberts have been hard at work providing for those in need. Over the course of a week, they collected 15 coats for those in need.

“It’s always great to see students and their generosity.  So many of us here at St. Dominic are fortunate with what we have, so anytime we can give back it’s wonderful,” said Roberts.

Congratulations to NHS, Outreach and FBLA for all of their success and hard work! Although many of these opportunities to help have passed, there will undoubtedly be plenty more to come. Be sure to consider donating!