WMS Student Council Makes Christmas Special for Those Less Fortunate
Launch the media gallery 1 player“Mommy I want this! I want that! Ooh look at that!”
Most people would admit that they have done this before, especially as a kid. Even if you haven’t, you can’t say that you’ve never said you’re hungry. Wahoo Middle School wants to help homeless people, and the children who want to have the toys, the food, technology, or the kinds of things we all love.
They all know their families can’t afford these items. Those same kids go to school each day, knowing that they don’t get to go home to all of those toys and gadgets their friends have.
One little toy could be the difference between a good Christmas and just a Christmas. If one toy makes a child smile this year, Wahoo Middle School made almost 1,000 children smile.
The Wahoo Middle School collected almost 1,000 toys for the Open Door Mission in Omaha.
On December 9 the student council officers and their sponsors took a busload of toys to the children. While they were there, a representative of the mission gave them a tour. During the tour, the officers learned many facts about homeless people.
One fact was that the average age for a homeless person is nine. Amazing, huh? Most people don’t know that the average person is only two paychecks away from being homeless.
A mission representative also told us many things about the mission itself. Just at one of their buildings, they serve 1,500 meals each day. The mission has a warehouse about the size of three classrooms full of food. Our guide stated that if no one donated any food, the warehouse would be empty in two days.
The mission has many buildings. Each building has a wing for men, a wing for women, and one for families. They are building a $21 million building called Lydia House.
The mission also has educational programs for those who need them. After two years there is a 97% success rate. These programs usually get the attendees off the streets, keeping them away from violence and drugs.
The Student Council officers had a great experience at the mission:
The president Darcy Barry said, “It was a sad experience.”
Vice President Alicia Iversen stated, “It was eye-opening.”
Samantha Grandgenett quoted, “Very inspiring.”
“Amazing!” said Paris Mood, Treasurer.
Co-Historians, Payten Foster and Darian Coffey, both said, “Shocking!”
Everyone should take a second a day to realize how great our lives are. We are very lucky. A second a day is not that much to realize our blessings.