Northeast Christmas, 2011
Let's take a stroll down memory lane to when we were back in high school. Now for some of us, that stroll will take longer than for others, so we'll give you a head start...GO!
Remember Christmas past, the excitement surrounding that special holiday? Perhaps there were trips being planned to grandparent's homes, family coming in from out of town. We were looking forward to that special meal; turkey, ham, pork roast, or for those genuine Italian families, lasagna! Not to mention all the side dishes that were unique to our own families. Think back to sitting around the Christmas tree, taking turns opening gifts, surrounded by loving family members, sharing that special time of the year. Then there was the coming back to school after that long vacation...greeting friends and sharing stories and showing off new clothes! Times haven't changed much for most of our children and grandchildren.
But for many students at Northeast this year, their life is a struggle. They struggle to keep their few clothes clean, to find a place to shower, someplace to do their homework. They struggle to stay in school, to have enough to eat. Sometimes the biggest meal of the day is found in the Northeast cafeteria. These students are homeless and they are what is now called,"couch hoppers" (I dislike this term, but whatever you call it, these students are without most of the necessities). The most important necessity for anyone is encouragement and a loving family and home. They are sleeping at friends homes....sleeping on couches or wherever they can. These students are struggling to stay in school. Some of them are working as well. The teen years are difficult at best, trying to figure out where you fit in, who you are and the pressure of maintaining your grades! Can you imagine being a young person today and the stress of not knowing where you are sleeping each night?
Needless to say, these students won't be having the kind of Christmas that we enjoyed as young people. When they come back to school and there is talk about what their friends did over Christmas, most likely they will change the subject, remain silent or simply walk away. Pretending like it doesn't matter to them.
While your Alumni Association is diligent and good stewards of the revenue of your generosity from fund raisers, yearly dues and donations that go to our annual scholarships; we find that in order to give our students every fighting chance to make it in life, sometimes we need to step up to the plate in some other areas as well.
This year, instead of adopting young children for Christmas through the Salvation Army, we have great needs in our own school and would like to help these students, so we have chosen to adopt as many of these at risk students as possible. We are aware that there are many needs that we cannot provide for (this year, NE has a social worker on staff and we are working with her), but by stepping up to the plate and doing what we can is all that we can ask. You may never know the change you make in someone's life by your one small act of kindness.
If you would like to donate to our Northeast Christmas Project and/or help shop, wrap and in general offer up your services, contact:
Roberta Holt-Kipper
816-358-3201
rholtkl@yahoo.com
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