More than 375 gifts were collected for families in need at Union Ridge Elementary School in Ridgefield as a part of the Giving Tree program.
For many local families, the holidays are a challenging time of the year as even small gifts can be out of reach on tight budgets. Each year, the Giving Tree program provides holiday cheer for hundreds of children in the Ridgefield School District.
As a part of the program, Giving Trees were set up at every school in the district. Next, counselors and the Ridgefield Family Resource Center identified families with school-age children who could use assistance buying gifts. The students then submitted their ideas for gifts on tags as well as their gender and age. The donors then selected an anonymous recipient from the Christmas tree at their school.
The PTAs at each school volunteered to collect, wrap, store and distribute presents around the district. Each family was able to have their gifts delivered in time for the holidays. This year, Union Ridge Elementary School recieved gifts for 377 children.
“We had to refill the tree with new tags four different times,” school counselor Nicky Dunn said. “The response was amazing. And it’s all for Union Ridge originated families. At least one of the kids in the family attends school here, and other tags are for their siblings, because we support all of the kids in the home.”
