At the city level, the Office on Aging & Human Services has teamed up with Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church and Saint Albert the Great Church for the Adopt a Family program providing Christmas gift donations from church parishioners, private individuals and residents, local businesses and civic groups. This holiday season, approximately 51 families and nearly 130 children will be helped by the program, said Debra Burrows, outreach specialist for the Office on Aging & Human Services.
Sunday school students at St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church will also be donating to the cause, bringing in their “Saint Nicholas Gift Offering” for distribution through the Office on Aging & Human Services. The Enrichment Center of Wishing Well Preschool will also donate items collected on their Giving Tree, Burrows said.
The North Royalton Kiwanis Club has partnered with the City and Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church to distribute holiday food boxes to those in need. More than 120 families have signed up to receive a box, Burrows said. Boxes contain a ham, components for a holiday meal, produce and a gift certificate from the Kiwanis to purchase additional needed items.
“It makes you feel good knowing that you are able to provide not only food, but also gifts to those in need during the holiday,” Burrows said. “The recipients are always overwhelmed by the amount of generosity. It makes me feel good giving back to the community and making somebody’s holiday. It really is all about the kids. In today’s world, you really want to try and build or maintain that hope in the children that there is good in this world though we don’t always see it.”
Members of the Royalton Hills Lions Club have also been busy throughout November and December, performing everything from writing out and sending Christmas cards to those in nursing homes to mailing care packages to troops serving overseas. Together with other service groups, members are also ringing the bell for the Salvation Army red donation kettles, said President Jacky Grimm.
The club’s other activities included running “Judy’s Chocolate Café” and sponsoring a tree on the City Green during the Holiday Lighting Christmas Parade and working with the city for the Adopt a Family program. The Royalton Hills Lions Club also sponsored 100 wreaths in the National Wreaths Across America project that ensures all veterans at Ohio Western Reserve Cemetery are honored, Grimm noted.
At the school level, local students are going above and beyond in their efforts to help spread holiday cheer.
The North Royalton High School Student Council is sponsoring a gift tree and will use collected monies to purchase gifts for those high schoolers in need, according to information released by School Counselor Department Chair Kriste Smith. Students in the Spanish 4 Honors classes are writing children’s Christmas stories and traveled to the elementary schools to perform a cultural lesson. A staff versus students basketball game was also held to raise money to purchase gift cards for local families and the girls’ softball team went shopping to purchase toys for a local nonprofit. Key Club created “Operation Appreciation,” as a gesture to show thanks to high school custodians. Members cleaned lunch tables and treated custodians to lunch, Smith said. The girls’ basketball program hosted the Empower Sports Program with running skills and games for children with special needs and during their Christmas Break will be making and donating blankets to Akron Children’s Hospital. The “Holiday Cheer” program has high school staff members donating items that students can “shop for” for their parents, Smith added, and the Holiday Helping Hand initiative involves the Office on Aging & Human Services purchasing presents for students in need.
Youngsters at Royal View Elementary School collected gift cards for their building’s Holiday Giving Tree, said Principal Kirk Pavelich. The gift cards assist local families in need that have children between the ages of 12 and 18. Students also collected food donations for the annual Holiday Food Drive. At Valley Vista Elementary School, members of “Girls On The Run” organized a drive collecting new or gently used duffel bags and luggage for children in the Cuyahoga County foster system, said Principal Jeff Hill. The building’s Giving Tree project wraps up Dec. 21 and collected new socks and winter wear for the Malachi Center shelter in Cleveland. Last year, Valley Vista was able to fill an entire truck load with winter wear donations, Hill said. Student Council also once again collected food items for the local food bank.
“Beginning the last week of November, St. Albert the Great students filled the “Giving Tree” in the main foyer at St. Albert Church with mittens, hats, and gloves for the Christ Child Society Head Start Program (3-5-year-olds) to ensure their little heads and hands were kept warm this cold winter season. As soon as those items were taken down, two giant boxes were placed in the main foyer to collect for the next round of contributions. Students in Preschool, 1st through 4th grade brought in toys and games for the Cops for Kids Program for children of similar ages. Students in grades 5 and 6 brought in toys and games for the St. Albert the Great Parish Ministries; Jr. High students brought in games and gift cards for 13-17-year-olds or Multi-Packs of socks, hats, and gloves for adults in our Parish Ministries. The donations exceeded numbers from years past. Our kindergarten students all bring a toy to place on the altar the night of their Christmas pageant. Those gifts are given to the Cops for Kids program as well,” said Julie Polowyk, Assistant Principal.
Royal Redeemer Lutheran School students and congregation family worked hard at their Helping Hand fund which offers food, necessities and gifts for local families in need, said Principal Heidi Anne Malone.
Albion Students are sending cards, pictures and small gifts to a couple of local Senior Living/Alzheimer’s Centers in North Royalton and Strongsville. “We hope to bring some of those residents some additional holiday cheer,” said Jenn Nemeth, Albion School Counselor.
Under the direction of Ms. Amy White, 5th grade social studies teacher and Student Council advisor, North Royalton Middle School was able to bring in $2,280 to distribute in gift cards to 21 families who have students at the middle school this year! Generous NRMS staff members picked a tag off of the Project Thanks Wreath and brought back gift cards to donate to NRMS families. The school also held their annual Staff vs. Students volleyball and basketball games in which generous students donated $1 to attend the game. That money allowed Project Thanks to purchase 44 additional gift cards to include in the distribution to families in need. “What an awesome way to get our school involved in helping out our community! Thank you so much to all who donated and participated to make this a success,” said Principal Jeffrey Cicerchi.

By SARA MACHO HILL
Contributing Writer