Tis the season for giving, and Rye students have been doing just that. Students, staff members, and parent volunteers have organized and participated in various fundraisers, drives, and other acts of kindness in recent weeks. Each school has helped play a part in providing food and clothing.

 

Tis the season for giving, and Rye students have been doing just that. Students, staff members, and parent volunteers have organized and participated in various fundraisers, drives, and other acts of kindness in recent weeks. Each school has helped play a part in providing food and clothing.

Midland School collected 220 pounds of Halloween candy for Rye Smiles’ Operation Gratitude, nearly three times as much as last year. The local dentists who participated with Rye Smiles shipped the candy to the troops overseas and also paid $1 for every pound of candy, contributing $220 to charity. Midland also held its annual food drive, collecting 1,356 cans of food for the Carver Center in Port Chester. As children donated food items they were invited to sign the Wall of Giving and share what they are grateful for. The Midland Elves program will provide gifts to 260 children, 73 more than last year, and also gathered clothing and other items for the Rye Angels.

Milton School collected $1,735 through a UNICEF project. Mrs. Karen Kozan, the teacher who organized the project, reported it was the most money raised in the past several years. Milton also held a food drive to benefit the Carver Center.

 

Osborn School collected nonperishable food items for the Carver Center as well. In addition, Osborn students donated 903 pounds of Halloween candy to Operation Gratitude, resulting in a $903 donation to St. Jude’s Hospital from Rye Smiles. As part of another outreach initiative, fourth and fifth graders brought in 165 homemade brown bag lunches (many with notes and drawings) to feed the homeless at the Don Bosco Center in Port Chester. This program is slated to continue throughout the year, and other grades will have the opportunity to participate.

 

Rye Middle School is once again conducting its Hope for the Holidays Drive, this year gathering jackets, hats, scarves, and gloves for the Carver Center’s food pantry, where a party will be held for the children receiving the donated items. Middle School students also collected three bins of Halloween candy in November for Operation Gratitude, through Reach Out Rye’s Treats for Troops Project. In the coming weeks, the Reach Out Rye club will be spearheading the Great Kindness Challenge, in which students will be challenged to do a random act of kindness in their community each day for 50 days.

 

At Rye High School, the Student Council hosted a competition between classes to collect gifts for a toy drive. The High School faculty will also once again collect toys for children in need.