Jackson Middle School seventh-graders pose for a picture with the no-sew blankets they made for the homeless, part of this year’s philanthropy project. Each year students choose a cause to benefit and decided this year to help keep those less fortunate warm during the winter. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG – ‘Tis the season of giving and Jackson Middle School students have the spirit as they packages for those in need this holiday season.

The school’s Operation Christmas program rallied the community this year, matching families in need with local donors to ensure students and their families have gifts and essentials for the holidays.

“Usually before the start of November, I send out a flyer that asks the general public if they need help or want to help,” teacher Cherish Stavrakis said.

Responses began almost immediately from families in need, Stavrakis said. Donors adopted a student whose family privacy was protected through a system for anonymous identification, such as “student A, boy,” she said.

“Once somebody calls in and says, ‘I would like to adopt a kid’, I assign them one anonymously,” Stavrakis said.

Gifts from Jackson Middle School’s Operation Christmas lined the halls Friday ready to be distributed. Forty-four packages were assembled by students from donors that included clothing, jackets, shoes and gifts for the holidays. (Photo Provided)

She then sends donors the list of needs that includes clothes, jackets, shoes and a sealed wish list prepared by the family in need.

“We ask for two tops, two bottoms, a pair of shoes, a coat or a jacket, two reasonably priced wants and then a stocking of candy and hygiene and a box of non-perishable foods,” Stavrakis said. “If they want to stray from that list and buy more, that’s perfectly fine.”

The operation included participation from students throughout the school including the National Junior Honor Society and the Student Council.

“I like seeing other people happy and not all people get to experience Christmas like I do,” Jillian Farley, Student Council president, said. “Everyone deserves a good Christmas.”

Seventh-graders got into the spirit this year by making no-sew blankets for the homeless for their annual philanthropy project. Each year students in seventh-grade will choose a cause and this year they decided to help keep those less fortunate warm during the winter.

Jackson Middle School seventh-grader Mason Lotten works on a no-sew blanket in the student’s philanthropy project. Keeping the less fortunate warm was the cause this year. (Photo Provided)

Every seventh-grader worked on a blanket and that they are technically handmade and involve “a lot of measurement and tying” but no actual sewing, Stavrakis, a seventh-grade science teacher, said. Students worked in groups using new material donated for the project.

Groups worked on the blankets for two weeks and some students even gave up their lunch and homeroom periods to work on them, she said.

Seventh-graders Chaney Brown, Reagan Cochrane and Nikitas Vasilakis said they worked hard on the project and enjoyed making the blankets. It made them feel good to know they were helping others, the students said.

“It was an opportunity to do something nice for those less fortunate than me,” Vasilakis said.

Kamrie Anderson called it “Operation We Got You Covered” and said she also had fun with the project.

Jackson Middle School seventh-grader Reagan Cochrane works on a no-sew blanket. (Photo Provided)

“We worked hard to create warm blankets to get the homeless through the cold,” Anderson said. “It makes me feel good that our hard work went to people in need.”

Student Council Adviser Kristen Allodi said the student council works year-round to respond to childhood hunger. She said everything is student-led.

“The student council stocks all the things and organizes the pantry and organizes the food drives to refill it,” Allodi said.

She said the group supports weekly food bag distribution in partnership with Vienna Baptist Church through a program called Blessings of Hope, they run a program to help restock their pantry at the beginning of the school year called “Stuff the Cruiser” and they worked with the Vienna Police Department for No Shave November this year where they raised $512 to provide hams for families in need for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

“It makes me feel good and makes me feel like I’m giving back to my community,” Alex Somich, Student Council vice-president said.

Student council members from Jackson Middle School fill the shelves of the school’s food pantry recently. Student council organizes weekly food bags in with Vienna Baptist Church, providing essential items to students in need, and also helps to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners to those in need. (Photo Provided)

His favorite part is knowing they were able to provide for 42 students and 28 families over the holiday seasons.

Stavrakis said she wasn’t surprised students felt that way.

“With everything we do here, it is a community… a Jackson community effort, from the food pantry to Operation Christmas, to the blankets, everybody’s getting involved,” Stavrakis said. “Everybody has an opportunity to get involved. And clearly, it’s working.”

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com.

Gifts from Jackson Middle School’s Operation Christmas lined the halls Friday ready to be distributed. Forty-four packages were assembled by students from donors that included clothing, jackets, shoes and gifts for the holidays. (Photo Provided)

Students in the Jackson Middle School Operation Christmas assembled 44 packages of clothes, jackets, shoes and gifts for those in need during the holidays. (Photo Provided)

Jackson Middle School Student Council officers Jillian Farley, Alex Somich and Fallon Lindamood pose for a picture with officers from the Vienna Police Department after collecting $512 from the department to help the council provide Thanksgiving and Christmas hams to those in need. (Photo Provided)

Jackson Middle School student council members fill the school’s SRO vehicle with supplies in September for their “Stuff the Cruiser” project. The students use the project to help restock their food pantry and the start of the year. (Photo Provided)