Supporting Your Students During the Holidays

The Holiday Season is upon us, guys! At this point, I hope your shopping is done, your presents are wrapped, and you've contributed to consumerism to the degree of your liking. As we get lost in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and the impending Winter Break, it's easy to forget about students less fortunate than us. But you can't and you won't.

This year, I'm at Barron Elementary School which has a reputation for fantastic community service projects and parent involvement. Seriously, this school is the mecca of parent involvement and fortitude. Around the beginning of December, the amazing main office secretary began to speak with me about pulling together an Angel Tree to help our students in need. I JUMPED at the chance! This was an awesome opportunity to assist with those barriers to learning as well as bring cheer to a child this Winter Break.

I'd never done this before so I was a bit nervous about how to move forward. I did a lot of research and contacted the fearless Ms. Lewis of Burbank to consult. In the end, I think the program turned out extremely well. Here are the steps I took to create the Barron Knight Angel Tree:

1. Send out an email to faculty AND staff to find out what students may be in need.

As a substitute counselor, I had very little information about my student body when I arrived. I didn't want to make assumptions, so I didn't. After gaining approval for the effort from administration, I contacted the teachers via email. I told them the purpose of the tree and implored them to submit names of students that could benefit from such a program. I also gave them a deadline to report this information because sometimes, even adults need deadlines. On your end, this deadline should not be hard and fast, merely a guideline to get the information in ASAP.

2. Once you have a list of names, contact the parents on the phone and get verbal consent for participation. If they choose to participate, take the time to ask them specifics about their child!

As tempting as it is to let the holiday spirit possess you and run amuck, you MUST get consent for buying presents for students. I would suggest something to the following:

"Good morning, Mr./Mrs./Ms. So and So. My name is ____________________ and I'm the School Counselor at _________________. This year we decided to do a Barron Knight Angel Tree to provide Christmas presents to students who could be in need this holiday season. Would you be interested in your student participating and being part of that tree?"

In my experience, parents who wanted the help were ALL to grateful to give consent. Those who did not need it, were still very grateful for our efforts. I even had one tearful parent explain "I've used these programs in the past and it makes me so happy you guys are helping others. This year, I'm in a much better position. Please let me know if there is any way I can return the favor and help other students!" I'd be lying if that convo didn't leave me misty-eyed. If a parent does get offended, do not worry and do not take it personal. The good you'll do with this effort will outweigh the bad every time.

DOCUMENTATION. DOCUMENTATION. DOCUMENTATION. When you call the parents and they say yes- document it. When you call the parents and you say no- document it. Write the name of the parent, the date, and time of phone call and consent. Keep all the information in one document for convenience.

If the parent says yes, make sure to find out pertinent information so you get the perfect gifts for their children. I'd start with the following:

Favorite color:

Shirt size:

Pant size:

Shoe size:

Coat size:

Favorite hobbies:

Favorite books:

Toys that interest them:

From there, you have the information needed to create the Angel Tree tags. Assign each student an Angel Tree number for discretion. That will be the number used on the tags. Outside of your solitary document- their names should not be present on ANY other item. Do not share this information to another soul. This is confidentiality in action, folks.

3. Have a conversation with administration about how the Angel Tree programs have worked at your school in the past.

Angel trees are like jungle gyms, every elementary school has one and everyone's is slightly different. Ask them what works for their population. At Burbank Elementary School, the Angel Tree was something done by faculty and staff and not open to the entire school community. Due to that, it was set up to sponsor one child for the holiday season for everything they'd need. Participants committed to donating at least: shirt, pants, shoes, socks, coat, and then the fun stuff if your budget would allow. I get that.

At Barron Elementary, it had been set up where there was 1 item per ornament so that one person/family was not committed to buying an entire Christmas for a child. This opportunity had also been open to the entire school community: students, faculty & staff, and the PTA.

Knowing this information will save you A LOT of hassle. It will not leave you doubled over in your office silently screaming at your idiocy and oversight (in case you were wondering, this is coming from very personal experience).

4. The FUN and EASY part- get that Christmas tree and decorate the snot out of it.

If your school doesn't already have a tree, there is no need to dump a ton of money into it. Walmart has many pre-lit tree size options ranging from 15-50 bucks in varying colors! I personally purchased a silver 4 ft tall skinny tree (at a whopping $15) to get the job done. I would suggest playing along with school colors, cause no one's ever gonna doubt MY school spirit!

Once you've got the tree, it's time to start those tags. Again, keep in mind how the tree is done. If its one ornament a student, then tags should include all the information garnished from parent interviews. These tags will have to be large. At Burbank where they used this method, they created hand drawn Hedwigs (their tree was Harry Potter themed!) with little envelopes with full student information (sans name). At Barron elementary school, we used small gift tags. On the front it would say "TO: Student Assigned #" and the back would list one item the student was requesting this holiday season.

Once the tree is decorated- find the PERFECT high visibility spot for it! I chose right outside the main office for maximum viewing. I would also suggest adding a sign that explains the tree: purpose, deadline for submitting presents, and encouraging students/parents/guests to grab a tag. I will say, be CAREFUL that the tree is high enough that Pre-K and Kindergarten students aren't just grabbing tags to grab tags.

5. Send a letter home to parents about the Angel Tree's purpose and how to go about grabbing a tag. If possible, use the school's message system to send a recorded voice message home about it! Make it fun and impactful!

Letters home to parents should give all the specifics about the tree. The purpose, the deadline date for submitting presents, explanation of the tag process, and if possible- a parent permission slip to have their children choose a tag for the family. Not every parent has time to take off work during the typical school day to grab a tag. That way even these students/families can participate and parents can begin the discussion of donating to others.

Deadline for submitting gifts should be 1-2 days before pick-up is planned. That way if there are in stragglers, their presents won't be left out.

6. Call the parents again and set up either 1) pick up time, or 2) drop off time.

Lets face it, many of the people who have students in need do not have the necessary transportation or money to make the extra trip out to the school. If they can't make it, then arrange the drop off of materials to their home. Pick a specific date/time so you will be sure someone is there to accept them.

If parents plan to pick up the items: be COGNIZANT of the student's schedule. Do not arrange pick up for the parents at their child's lunch time. Talk about taking a nice gesture and turning their child into the next charity project. No beuno. Parents are usually extremely grateful when you take all this into consideration. While you'll never know it the kids would be grateful too.

7. When presents begin to arrive- organize them based off student number and MAKE SURE THEY STAY LOCKED UP WHEN YOU ARE NOT IN YOUR OFFICE.

I cannot say enough how crazy the holidays make some people. You do not want all your hardwork to go right down the tubes because some sticky handed person or child decided to steal the Angel Tree gifts. If your school has a vault, speak with the administration about keeping the items there.

Once all presents have been divided by student number- package them up in boxes/bags and label them with pick-up information. This will assist you the final day before winter break when you're doing a mad scramble for the finish line.

8. Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor and the smiling faces of the parents who know they'll be something for their children under the Christmas tree.

Guys, this step is SO important. Take a moment and really enjoy the smiling faces of parents who have been worrying for days, weeks, or even months about how they were gonna pull this holiday season off. All the planning, coordination, and honestly- heavy lifting will all become worth it.

Pat yourself on the back! You just made someone's holiday, counselors! Enjoy your winter break!