BRYANT — Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and taking final semester exams, many students at Bryant High School somehow still found time for community-service work.
This year, students participated in at least two activities to benefit others in the community — the Adopt-a-Child (Angel Tree) program through The Salvation Army and purchasing gifts for preschool children at the Central Arkansas Development Council’s Head Start Program at Shannon Hills.
“Bryant High School has been participating in Adopt-a-Child through The Salvation Army for many years,” said Amber Leaton, Student Senate sponsor and a U.S. history teacher at the high school. “This year, we adopted 55 children from our district for Christmas.
“Several BHS clubs and organizations, as well as faculty members, signed up to purchase gifts and clothing for the children,” she said.
“In addition, the Bryant High School Student Senate purchased Christmas gifts for 17 students at the local CADC preschool,” Leaton said. Student Senate members accompanied Santa Claus to deliver the gifts personally to the preschool children and help them open their gifts.
Among those taking gifts to the preschool were seniors Katie Dandurand, Shayla McKissock and Ben Majors.
“Oh, my goodness,” Dandurand said, adding that this is the first year she has been in the Student Senate. “The kids loved [the gifts] so much.
“We all went as a group to shop for their presents and then divided up into smaller groups. Of the 17 kids, 12 were girls. So our group bought all of the girls’ gifts.”
Dandurand said the students bought tiaras for the girls, “all the different Disney princesses. We bought bubbles, bouncy balls, crayons and coloring books.”
Dandurand said she volunteered for this project as a way to get more involved in school.
McKissock said this is also her first year to be in the Student Senate.
“It was so great to be able to go there and give the gifts to the kids,” McKissock said. “It was wonderful to see how excited they were. Some looked like these would be the most presents they would get.
“It was really cool. I volunteered to do this because I really like being involved with kids. I think getting the opportunity to do something for someone who has less than you do gives you a great feeling.”
Majors participated in the project last year as well. He is the treasurer of the Student Senate.
“We shopped for the boys. We talked about it and decided we wanted to get something they would really enjoy,” Majors said. “We bought several smaller things like Play-Doh, balls, coloring books and crayons. We tried not to be too extravagant.
“They loved their presents so much. They did not have a Christmas tree set up, but we brought along Santa to give them their gifts. Grayson Ruple was dressed as Santa. He had bags of toys for each child, and each bag had the child’s name on it.”
Leaton said members of the Student Senate purchase the gifts for the preschool children through the Student Senate account with money the group has earned through fundraisers.
“Student Senate has partnered with CADC for this project for decades,” Leaton said, adding that she is a graduate of Bryant High School and has been a member of the faculty for four years. “My mother, Vicki Howard Westbrook, was in Student Senate at BHS in 1979 and remembers doing a Christmas project with the CADC preschool.
“She said back when she was in high school, the preschool was in a different location, but she remembers doing the Christmas party because it was one of her favorite memories. She said she just remembers tearing up because the kids were so happy just to get the smallest things. She is recently retired, so she was able to come with us this year to deliver the gifts, which was great.”
Leaton said the children had their photos made with Santa Claus and took the photos home to their parents.
“This is definitely one of our favorite service projects each year,” Leaton said.
Leaton said participation in the Adopt-a-Child project grows every year, and more students and faculty members express interest in helping children in need.
“By the end of the program, we will have collected hundreds of boxes of clothing, coats and shoes, as well as countless bicycles and toys,” she said. “The gifts are picked up by The Salvation Army, where they are wrapped and distributed to the families. It is a wonderful program, and I am so glad that Bryant High School is able to be a part of it.”
Leaton said that for the Angel Tree project, the school had a number of clubs, athletic teams and faculty members volunteer to adopt a child.
“They are asked to spend between $80 and $100 on each child, and each club or group raises their own money,” she said. “The school does not directly fund any of the gifts.”
Some of the groups that participated this year were the Student Senate, Teachers of Tomorrow, the National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America, the journalism staff and the girls basketball team, among others.