Massapequa ninth graders gift stories and jammies

Children looking to cozy up with a good book could do just that thanks to ninth graders at Massapequa High School’s Ames Campus. The Helping Hands club held its annual holiday book and pajama drive, and the donations were plentiful.

Students in the club gathered afterschool on Dec. 16 to count and sort donations, which will be given to preschoolers at the Wantagh Head Start program. The collection drive began in late November and continued through the first two weeks of December. Ames students donated 105 new books and 134 pairs of pajamas to the cause.

The donations ensured that each of the 95 children in the program will receive a book and pajamas when Helping Hands students visit the center on Dec. 19. The surplus items will be given to Head Start to distribute as needed. 

“This has been the most successful drive in years,” said Alyssa Levine, co-adviser of Helping Hands along with Nicole Reiss. “We definitely exceeded our goal.”

Ninth graders will also spend time at Head Start to do holiday crafts with the preschool students. Helping Hands members said it feels nice to help out children during the holiday season, and noted the generosity of their classmates this year.

“It’s a lot,” Brooke Schneidler said of the amount of donations. “There’s a lot of people in the club who want to help make these kids smile. We have a good school that can come together and do good for others.”

“It’s good to see that we’re able to help other people that need it more than we do,” added Andrew Carlson. 

 

Photo captions:

1: Ames Campus Helping Hands members, from left, Keira Szwejkowski, Brooke Schneidler, Emma Salvo, Andrew Carlson and Zaid Balic were among the students who helped sort items for the annual book and pajama drive.

2: Hallie Lorenz, left, Emma Rudolph and Shannon Walsh organized donations of more than 100 new books.

3: Gerard Wagner, left, and Nicholas Tucker counted and folded pajamas.

4: The Helping Hands members sorted donations for preschoolers at a local Head Start center.

 

Photos courtesy of the Massapequa School District