Trinity group doubles number of students served by holiday giving program
Trinity’s Hiller Holiday Helpers shopped for essentials and fun holiday gifts at Target in South Hills Village.
Trinity Middle School students Claudia Cappelli, left, and Sam Schury wrap gifts for fellow students Thursday in the school library.
Trinity Area School District raises money to buy gifts for district students and their siblings. Meals also will be delivered with the gifts.
Frosty wind nudged the windows as teams of workers – their heads capped in red, fur-trimmed hats – bustled about, wrapping hundreds of toys, books and clothes.
This wasn’t the scene of Santa’s workshop, but of Trinity Middle School’s library Thursday as the Hiller Holiday Helpers prepared to dispense some of their own magic.
A group of staff and student council members, led by advisers and teachers Amber Muschick and Lindsay Benzenhoefer, raised $16,000 to purchase Christmas gifts for 80 district students and 16 siblings. In the second year of the program, the group was able to double the number of children receiving gifts.
“It’s crazy. You say something, and people show up to help. We’ve had so many people offer to help with whatever we needed,” Benzenhoefer said.
The holiday helpers raise funds through a popular student-teacher dodgeball tournament, tailgate parties and student dances.
Staff members identify students who could benefit from the program, and the committee starts making phone calls to families, asking for wish lists.
About 60 percent of each recipient’s allotted budget is designated for essentials, such as clothes, bedding and toiletries, while 40 percent is spent on “the fun stuff,” such as toys. This year, the group bought gifts for children from 4 months to 18 years old.
Every wish was granted – minus two Hatchimals that the group is working to secure.
Muschick, who came up with the idea for the service project because her high school sponsored a similar program, said she was saddened to discover what some district students live without. After asking a mother if her 5-year-old son could use sheets and blankets, the mother told her he didn’t have a bed.
“A new bed and mattress have already been delivered,” said Muschick.
While Muschick and Benzenhoefer started the spree by snatching up Black Friday discounts, 19 students and eight staff members completed the lists with a trip to Target Thursday. They brought back their wares and immediately got to work, organizing and wrapping every gift.
“It honestly feels amazing,” said Madison McKay, student council president. “I know if I was in their shoes, I would want somebody to do something like this for me.”
Students who receive gifts are kept anonymous and identified only by age and gender.
In addition to gifts and filled stockings, students and their families will be given a full day’s worth of meals, including a ham, fresh fruit, side dishes and desserts.
All the goods will be delivered in time for Christmas Eve.
“This is why we went into teaching,” said Benzenhoefer. “Students learn so much more going out into the community, learning life lessons, than we could ever teach them in the classroom. And they appreciate it. They love giving back.”