Local News - December 2003

Students adopt ‘Christmas Child’ project

Kids in poor countries benefit

By SARAH GRANO, Staff Writer

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Many children have learned to see Christmas as a time of receiving things like presents, money and candy.

Students at Catawba Springs Elementary school, however, have learned about the spirit of giving this holiday season.

“You’re helping somebody, and it makes you and the other person feel good,” said Sydney Pasour, a fifth grade student.

Pasour’s AIG class took on Operation Christmas Child as a class project. They made morning announcements over the intercom, showed a video about the projects and collected boxes put together by students and faculty at the school.

The shoe boxes, stuffed full of toys, school supplies and hygiene items like toothpaste, will go all over the world to children in need.

“The people in other countries, the poor countries, they don’t have anything so we’re going to give it to them,” said Kristen Trent, a student in the AIG class. “I like it because I know I could change someone’s life.”

A video from Samaritan’s Purse the organization that runs Operation Christmas Child, was shown to students at the school.

“The best part of the video was that all the students got a chance to actually see some children and some of these deprived countries,” said Pat Freeman, who helped her students organize the project.

“They showed children who lived in garbage dumps, and it really hit home for them to see actual pictures of it.”

Now, those children may have dolls, hard candy or stuffed animals coming their way from Lincoln County.

Other schools, including Love Memorial Elementary and Pumpkin Center Elementary, are also involved in the Operation Christmas Child.

“The kids get excited about it,” Freeman said. “It doesn’t cost a lot of money, and everybody in the school can take part in it.”

Freeman’s AIG students filled their arms up with shoe boxes to be taken out to her car.

From there they would go to make Christmas better for little boys and girls all over the world.

Pasour carried one especially large box filled to the brim.

“It was heavy, but it was full of good things,” Pasour said.

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Staff Writer Sarah Grano can be reached at 704-735-3031 or sgrano@ltnews.com

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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