Students share Christmas cheer

About 58 students packed approximately 110 shoe boxes to send at Operation Christmas Child Box Packing in The Hub 9 p.m. Friday.
High Rise Resident Director Mariah Nelson led the event. This event allowed students to come and pack gifts in shoe boxes. The gifts were for boys and girls between the ages of 2 and 14. The gifts were toys, school supplies, non-liquid hygiene items, accessories and a personal note. All the gifts included in the boxes were donated.
The toys that included available to give were toy cars, yo-yos, jump ropes, balls, and toys that light up and make noise.
The school supplies were pens, pencils and sharpeners, crayons, notebooks, paper, solar calculators, and coloring and picture books.
The non-liquid hygiene items were toothbrushes, bar soap, combs, and washcloths.
The accessories were T-shirts, socks, hats, sunglasses, hair clips, jewelry, watches, flashlights and more.
While students packed shoe boxes, resident assistants that were working the event would read letters on how this positively affected the kids they were helping. The letters that were read were sent from the kids who received the shoe boxes.
“It helped me realize I’m very fortunate and blessed and I need to share those blessings,” Resident Assistant Chelsea Haynes, 21, junior of Auburn, said. “I also realized that we can have a huge impact with this program.”
Everyone at the event was excited when packing his or her shoe boxes. The look on everyone’s face displayed that students were happy to do their part to help.
“I like to give and spread joy across the world because it’s our job as people to help each other, and to give joy to others is to receive,” Resident Assistant Alisha Heelan, 21, junior of Lewellen, said.