Freeman High School embraces holiday giving season

A week to collect clothes, a week to gather coats and blankets, and a week to find toys, equals Freeman High School’s 15 Days of Giving.

Add the two weeks before the holiday when students did a food drive, and it’s more like 20 to 25 days of giving, said district Superintendent Randy Russell.

The annual effort led by teacher Scott Moore’s leadership students officially began five years ago. The drive kicked off on Monday, and continues until Dec. 15.

“A lot of families benefit,” Russell said. “It’s one of the coolest things that I’ve seen in a school district.”

Freeman School District is located in a rural area of southeast Spokane County. About 900 students attend three schools.

Student efforts to help needy families already resulted in 2,000 pounds of food and 40 turkeys, which were donated to North Palouse Community Food Bank.

The 15 Days of Giving goal for each week is simply to collect as much as possible to give to Freeman families, first; then three charities – Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, Project SPEAR (Serving People through Education Arts and Recreation) and Blessings Under the Bridge.

Lisa Miller, one of the student leaders, says 15 Days of Giving teaches students about the needs in the community and abroad.

“We take for granted that when we wake up on Christmas morning, there will be stuff under the tree for us,” she said. “Not everyone has that.”

The drive offers “us a different perspective from what we are normally used to seeing,” said junior Mitchel Panzeri. “You wouldn’t think a lot of people need help when they do, often because people are too embarrassed to say anything.”

This is the first year students are collecting blankets, all of which they plan on giving to Blessings Under the Bridge for homeless families.

“I think students have done a great job,” Moore said. “They’ve become more and more motivated every year that we’ve done this.”