A Season of Giving
A quick lesson in choosing a warm outfit for a four year old, a trip to the local mall to purchase the desired clothes and of course a toy or two, followed by a tutorial on gift wrapping and there you have it. These are all of the necessary ingredients for a lesson on giving from the heart, a lesson taken seriously by the Eaglebrook School community.
Many students on campus could recently be seen carrying containers from dorm to dorm in hopes of collecting money to donate to the "Adopt a Family" program of Franklin County, the county in which Eaglebrook lies. For 25 years now the community here at the school has contributed to this effort, which is organized locally by former Eaglebrook parent, Mrs. Arms. Our own school organizers are faculty members, Ms. Rachel Blain and Mr. Chet Pielock who are assisted by day and boarding students.
This year's endeavor began a little over a week ago with Ms. Blain and Mr. Pielock reminding us as a whole, of just how fortunate we are to be here on the Hill, warm and in possession of just about everything we need. We were reminded of the fact that this year especially, many families are not quite as fortunate as we are. Students, faculty, and staff were asked to give what they can to the effort to provide the four families we "adopt" with some necessities and some fun. Our families this year included eight boys and two girls ranging in age from 18 months to 6 years old, and seven parents. In 2007 the school community raised over $800 and all are hopeful that this year the amount raised will be as generous. Many thanks to Hayden Arnot '09, Richie Jiaravanon '09, Joon Lee '10, John Santolucito '10, Lucy Chase '10 and Joon Yang '09 who spearheaded the collection campaign. (Joon Yang deserves a bit of a special acknowledgement as he has worked with this program for three years now.)
Once the money was in, the spirited trio of Angelo Hunt '11, Ben Yi '11, and Mr. Pielock set off for the shopping phase. All requested items were purchased and it was considered a successful Saturday afternoon. In addition, there were even some left over funds, which were used for $100 grocery store gift certificates for the four families. But, before delivery of the gifts there came the wrapping party at the Chase –Blain household. Joining some of the fundraisers in the wrapping were Lucy Chasei '10, Alex Hope '09, Sam Chase '12, and Nick Smith '11. Rumor has it that a good time was had by all.
Now as all this activity was filling the campus air so too were the sounds of clanging cans and shaking boxes of pasta as we all did our best to collect food for the Food Bank of Western Mass. Last winter Eaglebrook collected and delivered 175 pounds of food and $500 and is hoping to surpass that amount this year. As faculty member and food drive organizer Mr. Peter Langella explained, that $500 actually translates into $3500 worth of food as the Food Bank can turn every dollar contributed into seven dollars worth of food. Aiding in this drive are students Riley Silbert '09, Joe McDonald '09, Hayden Arnot '09, Max Franzone '09, and Julien Fialkow '09.
So again countless thanks go out to our student body for their efforts in lending a hand to the local community. These projects help us all realize that we are an important part of the wider world and that there is always some way to make a difference in the lives of others. Gifts from the heart are always the best kind.
Many students on campus could recently be seen carrying containers from dorm to dorm in hopes of collecting money to donate to the "Adopt a Family" program of Franklin County, the county in which Eaglebrook lies. For 25 years now the community here at the school has contributed to this effort, which is organized locally by former Eaglebrook parent, Mrs. Arms. Our own school organizers are faculty members, Ms. Rachel Blain and Mr. Chet Pielock who are assisted by day and boarding students.
This year's endeavor began a little over a week ago with Ms. Blain and Mr. Pielock reminding us as a whole, of just how fortunate we are to be here on the Hill, warm and in possession of just about everything we need. We were reminded of the fact that this year especially, many families are not quite as fortunate as we are. Students, faculty, and staff were asked to give what they can to the effort to provide the four families we "adopt" with some necessities and some fun. Our families this year included eight boys and two girls ranging in age from 18 months to 6 years old, and seven parents. In 2007 the school community raised over $800 and all are hopeful that this year the amount raised will be as generous. Many thanks to Hayden Arnot '09, Richie Jiaravanon '09, Joon Lee '10, John Santolucito '10, Lucy Chase '10 and Joon Yang '09 who spearheaded the collection campaign. (Joon Yang deserves a bit of a special acknowledgement as he has worked with this program for three years now.)
Once the money was in, the spirited trio of Angelo Hunt '11, Ben Yi '11, and Mr. Pielock set off for the shopping phase. All requested items were purchased and it was considered a successful Saturday afternoon. In addition, there were even some left over funds, which were used for $100 grocery store gift certificates for the four families. But, before delivery of the gifts there came the wrapping party at the Chase –Blain household. Joining some of the fundraisers in the wrapping were Lucy Chasei '10, Alex Hope '09, Sam Chase '12, and Nick Smith '11. Rumor has it that a good time was had by all.
Now as all this activity was filling the campus air so too were the sounds of clanging cans and shaking boxes of pasta as we all did our best to collect food for the Food Bank of Western Mass. Last winter Eaglebrook collected and delivered 175 pounds of food and $500 and is hoping to surpass that amount this year. As faculty member and food drive organizer Mr. Peter Langella explained, that $500 actually translates into $3500 worth of food as the Food Bank can turn every dollar contributed into seven dollars worth of food. Aiding in this drive are students Riley Silbert '09, Joe McDonald '09, Hayden Arnot '09, Max Franzone '09, and Julien Fialkow '09.
So again countless thanks go out to our student body for their efforts in lending a hand to the local community. These projects help us all realize that we are an important part of the wider world and that there is always some way to make a difference in the lives of others. Gifts from the heart are always the best kind.
271 Pine Nook Road | P. O. Box 7 | Deerfield, MA 01342 | 413-774-7411
