This Christmas season, the WJ Key Club decided to work with caseworkers of Child Protective Services to orchestrate a gift-giving program for children in foster care. Key Club reached out to the WJ community through the PTSA listserv, inviting families to participate in their Holiday Gift Giving Program.

The Key Club aims to provide students with volunteer opportunities that allow everyone to get involved in the community and earn service hours. The Key Club is a student-run organization affiliated with Kiwanis International, dedicated to teaching leadership through service. The Senior Citizen Luncheon and the Holiday Gift Giving Program are two of the club’s main events each year.

In some cases, foster children have memories of happier times with their biological families, in other cases, they have never celebrated a holiday or received a gift, and are simply overwhelmed. Social studies teacher Kathy Simmons, with the help of the Key Club, looks to make a difference this holiday season.

Simmons took over the Holiday Gift Giving Program about five years ago. She matches participants with a child or teen in Child Protective Services in need of holiday gifts. These children and teens have been placed into foster care because of neglectful or abusive situations in their homes. All of these children and teens reside in Montgomery County.

“Last year, we gave presents to about 50 children and this year we have almost doubled that in the amount of people who say they are willing to buy presents for teens and children,” Simmons said.  

Participants are given the child or teen’s first name, age, ethnicity, gender and clothing sizes. Each child has a list of “need” items and “want” items put together by their caseworker. “Need” items typically consist of winter jackets, winter wear and infant car seats. Participants are advised to purchase one need item and one want item from the list.

There are three different ways to take part in the Holiday Gift Giving Program. Participants can indicate a preference for gender or age for their match. They can also choose to donate a gift card to a place where teens can purchase their own presents, like Target or Amazon, where many different types of presents can be purchased. Participants could also choose to donate gift wrap for presents instead.

“Key Club members help sort gifts given by members of the community to the foster children in the area,” senior Key Club President Julia Kane said. “Our involvement in this community effort helps to bring about the end result of holiday gifts.”

When the gifts come in, Key Club matches the gifts with numbers on them to all of the foster children names and then help get the gifts ready for transport. When unwrapped gifts are delivered, Key Club members make sure to wrap each present in colorful wrapping paper.

Gifts will be delivered to WJ in the Social Studies department in room 104 by Tuesday, December 13 so that the caseworkers will time to deliver the presents before the holidays.

“We hope to spread a positive message to the community and instill a passion for service and helping others through the [Holiday Gift Giving Program] in our club members,” Kane said. “Our service connects members with both parties benefiting.”