Adopt-A-Child Program
By: Priscilla Luong
Updated: December 17, 2008
Two simple words sum up everything these little ones, like Eliseo want to say to the big kids at Wylie High School. "Thank you," says Eliseo.
Wylie High School's student council organizes the Adopt-A-Child Program each year.
Aaron Amonett, who advises students in the leadership program at Wylie explains, "we adopt children that are less fortunate, maybe not able to get gifts or afford gifts because they have large families."
Students purchase gifts for children second grade and younger, and sometimes purchase gifts for the children's siblings. The kids in the Adopt-A-Child program then gather in the cafeteria for a Christmas Party complete with treats and presents, all provided by the high schoolers. For many teens at Wylie High, it's a chance for them to be little kids again.
"I love it! They're so cute, there's so many adorable little kids," says Roxanne Marsh, Vice President of WHS Student Council, "and most of them are really shy, which just makes them even cuter."
"They're very giving, it's a great day here at our high school," says Shauni Vaughn, a teacher at WHS.
Many students donate money from their own wallet to buy gifts for the kids, Vaughn says many kids work after school and raise their own money to buy gifts. Some students also donate their allowance money to the cause.
"We just asked everybody to give donations and everybody was willing," says Marsh, "everybody gave, everybody brought food for the kids, and a lot of them went shopping on their own."
The Adopt-A-Child Program also teaches WHS Students something that goes beyond the spirit of the holiday season.
"I think it teaches them that they're very fortunate for what they receive," says Amonett, "and it also shows that they can give and I think that they enjoy giving."
Parents and community members also pool funds to help make Christmas special for children involved in the program.
"Teachers make contributions as well, everybody pitches in and helps," says Vaughn.
Their fundraising efforts fulfill some big holidays wishes, walking through the hallways at Wylie, you see several children on brand new bicycles. Needless to say, the semester finished off with lots of laughter and smiling faces. It might be time to buckle down and study for finals but the success of today's event let all the Wylie Bulldogs end 2008 on a high note.
