Holiday Hero brightens season for young people

The Holiday Hero gifts are on their way to 116 young people in the care of the York Region Children’s Aid Society (CAS).

 

These are young men and women who live on their own, reside in group homes, or are away at school and don’t have family to rely on.

 

Each student advisory group at St. Anne’s and St. Andrew’s selected a person to help based on their profile and then purchased gifts for them. The young people requested items like laptops, housewares, toiletries, winter coats and boots, pet food, beds and linens, school supplies, and grocery gift cards.

 

Last week, staff and student volunteers from both schools helped sort and wrap the presents in the basement of Memorial Chapel on the St. Andrew’s campus. On Monday, Dec. 9, CAS caseworkers, with assistance from some hardworking students, busily packed up all the gifts, filling a rental truck along with a fleet of their cars.

 

This is the 18^th year SAC has operated Holiday Hero, and SAS has participated for the past three years. Faculty member, Melissa Tackaberry, who organizes the initiative, said the school had raised more than $2 million for the program over the years.