Imagine 11 carts full of items, a bill reaching $4,500 and a check-out time of almost 60 minutes.
That was the exact situation confronted by Altoona Wal-Mart cashier Joan Yon on Dec. 8 when several students from Bellwood-Antis’ junior class showed up.
The students were part of the entire junior class who appropriately dubbed themselves “The B-A Blue Angels R Us” – a group dedicated to bringing 10 deserving families a Christmas they will never forget.
“We really wanted to try to teach the kids a better sense of what community service is all about,” said Crystal Himes, junior achievement teacher at Bellwood-Antis, who, along with Andrea Brant, economics/POD teacher, organized this first-time project. “The students are really going to learn how important it is to care for our fellow man and help them learn how good it feels when they do something good for someone.”
According to Himes, the goal of the Blue Angels is to provide a merry Christmas to ten less-fortunate families in the Bellwood and Tyrone communities. Himes said local churches provided the names of five of the families while the other five was provided by a social services agency.
“Everything is in strict confidence,” said Himes. “The only people who know who these families are myself and the people who provided me with the names. No one else will know.”
Himes said both the churches and the social service agency provided her with a list of needs from each family. These lists included items from the expected, like toys and food items, to the not-so-popular Christmas gifts, such as heating oil and car repairs.
“We really wanted to make sure these families got what they needed,” said Himes. “One little girl actually requested cereal and juice. We just want to make sure these families receive a Christmas like they deserve – one like most of us will have.”
Each student was required to pull a single tag that was marked with the sex of a child and a gift item that would total no more than $10. The student was then asked to purchase this item as a donation for the program.
Also, the students were required to participate in monthly “special” projects, such as filling a laundry basket with toiletries for each family and weekend non-perishable food drives.
“We had a lot of good ideas and the kids seemed to respond well,” said Himes. “They enjoyed gathering these items because they knew it was going to bring smiles to a family’s faces on Christmas morning.”
Himes said in addition to the food, clothing, toys and others items gathered by the students, local grocery stores also donated food certificates that will allow each family to purchase food for their Christmas dinner.
“We also will provide each family with a voucher that will allow them to see a movie,” said Himes. “We brainstormed as to what we could provide for an entire family and thought giving them movie tickets would be a great idea.”
Himes said although each student was asked to purchase a gift for under $10, most of the additional money came through donations. She said one person made a $1,500 anonymous donation.
The students, totaling 111 total, worked all day on Thursday to wrap the gifts. They will be delivered by Himes next week.
“We really have a chance to help people that are less fortunate than most of us are,” said 16-year-old Shawn Weiand, a student working on the project. “I guess my favorite part of this whole project was choosing which gifts I would buy. Knowing that my efforts are enough to make a young child happy on Christmas is fulfilling for more. I hope we as a community can continue to help the families in the area.”
Seventeen-year-old Ben Kliner echoed Weiand’s thoughts.
“This project gave me a good feeling because I had the opportunity to give back to this wonderful community,” said Kliner. “This area has given so much to me, it’s the least I could do.”
According to Himes, this year’s project was so well received by the students – and she expects the same satisfaction from the receiving families – that plans are already in the works for next year’s project.
“We want people to see what we’re doing and maybe come up with some projects on their own,” said Himes. “People need to understand how important it is for others if they could just give two or three or four hours out of each month to help someone else.
“It’s a feeling unlike any other in the world and happy to be a part of that with the great students we have worked with this year in Bellwood.”
