In the giving spirit at Brooklyn Avenue

Everyone has gotten into the giving spirit at Brooklyn Avenue School.

Following a successful Thanksgiving food drive, students and staff are now focusing their efforts on making the holidays better for the less fortunate. School nurse Maria Griffin and the student council have taken the lead for this month’s charitable events at the District 24 elementary school.

Griffin’s “Angel Network” allows teachers and staff members the opportunity to help out those in need in the Brooklyn Avenue School community. On a board in the faculty room, Griffin has posted tickets, listing items requested by families such as clothing. “We try to do mostly what’s needed,” she said, “but we also try to do some toys.”

The donations are anonymous — only Griffin knows who will receive the gifts. Each ticket identifies a child only by a number. Griffin said after a staff member purchases that gift, they then wrap it and return it to her with the ticket attached so she can get it to the right child.

Griffin said this is the sixth year doing the holiday drive for families. She said she is anticipating a good response this year, as some teachers have taken three or four tickets each. “I haven’t been disappointed yet,” she said.

Once all the items are returned to Griffin, she loads up a truck and delivers all the presents to each house. “I play Santa,” she said, though not actually dressing up as him. “It’s a really fun day. It’s very emotional.”

Griffin said she delivers all of the items while the children are at school, so parents have the opportunity to hide the gifts until Christmas morning. She said the families are always extremely grateful.

Often, she said, when families find themselves in a better financial situation, they want to contribute to the holiday drive. “It is paying it forward in the community,” she said, “which really is the ultimate goal of this.”