Wrapping Our Way Into Hearts

HOPE Club's Operation Holiday Child (OHC) is part of an international project dedicated to bringing "great joy through the power of a simple gift" to thousands of children in over 110 countries.

After much research, HOPE Club members realized that a specific subset of children, boys aged 10-14, generally recieved the least amount of donations; as a result, our version of OHC focuses on bringing gifts specifically to this underrepresented group. Over the past few weeks, we have collected socks, shirts, notebooks, calculators, jump ropes, and additional materials to compile into these gift boxes, which will soon be shipped to underprivileged children in time for the holidays!

About 3 weeks before our collection date, we realized that we were falling short of our target. As a result, one of our committee leaders (Ananya Vasireddy) was able to contact the leader of the Red Cross Club at Parsippany High School (Eileen Zhang) to propose a joint donation collection effort.

One Friday, Morris Hills faculty members contributed to OHC fundraising efforts by wearing jeans on Jean Day, which was organized by HOPE Club. These funds helped pay for 100% of the shipping cost.

On November 5, we had successful wrapping party in which members created beautiful cards to accompany the boxes, which were wrapped throughout late October.

Members also distributed the materials amongst boxes and organized the supplies so they could be ready for shipping.

Thanks to the generosity of the student body at Morris Hills as well as contributions from Parsippany High School, HOPE Club was able to donate 33 boxes, a new record!