“Helping Our Own”
Stevenson’s PTA has proudly participated in assembling Holiday Baskets for Burbank families in need. This year, Stevenson has specifically asked the Burbank Coordinating Council the families we adopt to receive Holiday Baskets be chosen from Stevenson. We felt it was important to reach out to our own Stevenson families in these trying times of economic hardships. We also felt that knowing the donations we are asking for were going to our very own students and their families would be very fulfilling and rewarding to all of us at Stevenson.
The Holiday Basket Coordinator from the Burbank Coordinating Council made it very clear we would not be given the names of the families we have adopted. No one at Stevenson will know the identities of the adopted families. There will be a preset drop off point and pick up time and place off campus. The Stevenson families chosen won't even know they are the recipients of Holiday Basket created by Stevenson until the day of the pick up.
The goal of the Holiday Basket program is to provide holiday meals for one full day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and gifts for each member of the adopted families. Through a food drive and Giving Tree we hope to collect all the necessary items to create each family a Stevenson Holiday Basket unique to that family’s needs.
Food Drive: We ask that you start sending in your non-perishable food donations with your children on Monday, November 23rd. Volunteers will collect donations each day from classrooms until Friday, December 4th. Suggestions for food items are soups, tuna, can vegetables and fruits, dry cereals, pancake mix, pastas, crackers and peanut butter. Additional items needed are paper goods, and toiletries.
Giving Tree: There will be a poster of a Giving Tree set up at Stevenson. The tree will have paper leaves with the gender, age, and clothing sizes written on each leaf for the 25 adopted family members. The Giving Tree will also be on display during the Holiday Boutique from November 30 to December 3rd. We ask that you drop by and a pick a leaf of your choice. Please return your Holiday Basket donations by December 11th.
Additional information will be sent home and posted on the classroom blogs. If you would like to get involved with the Holiday Baskets, please contact us at abugnut@aol.com or call 818-522-7218. If you have any connections to clothes, grocery or toy store freebies by all means give us a call.
The Holiday Basket Committee
Diane and Katherine O’Rourke