Loving Hearts: Kids Help Needy During Holidays

SAG HARBOR, NY — Sag Harbor Elementary School students learned a true lesson in caring for others this holiday season.

To start, gift ideas were hung on a “mitten line,” displayed on the way into the school’s gymnasium. Schoolchildren and their families then purchased the gifts and brought them to the school with the paper mittens attached, the district said.

Many Sag Harbor students removed gifts from their own wish lists to be able to facilitate gift purchases for other children, district officials added.

More than 300 gifts were collected in December, from socks to "big-ticket" items including bicycles, with donations from faculty, staff, students, families and members of the community.

“One of the most important aspects of our mitten line is that it was accessible to everyone who wanted to help,” said Michelle Grant, school counselor, who helped spearhead the project.

Students are talking about the items they happily crossed off their lists, she said, adding that their generosity warmed her heart.

Ms. Grant added that the recipients of the gifts were extremely grateful and expressed their deep appreciation when volunteers delivered them.

“It is most evident when families who were assisted in the past reached out to me to see how they could help, now that things are more financially stable for them," she said.

Photo courtesy of Sag Harbor Union Free School District.