On Friday, Dec. 6, members of Interact and NHS (National Honors Society) went to the Virginia Horse Center to volunteer at the annual Rockbridge Christmas Basket program. This event is held every year during the holiday time and is run to help families in need in Rockbridge County.
This program provides boxes of food, supplies, and toys to families in need during the Holiday season. On Friday, students helped get the event started by building boxes, organizing food, and starting to fill the first couple boxes. They helped fill 693 boxes during their field trip.
Junior Kate Holston is one of the co-presidents for Interact. She talks about her experience and the process of packing the boxes.
“My second year I volunteered, I moved boxes from station to station, and I built boxes. I move boxes from station to station because you have different places throughout the county that you deliver them to. And so throughout the Virginia Horse Center, they have different columns, which are different places that you move the boxes to,” Holston said.
Holston explains why she enjoys helping out and attending this event.
“I like helping out because I feel like the holiday season is the best time to give and it’s a great opportunity for a lot of different people to come together and just help out for a couple days. And you always get a ton done which is very rewarding so I always leave feeling accomplished,” Holston said.
This year, the field trip is only available to seniors and officers of NHS and Interact. Senior Liam Courtney-Collins describes why he enjoys helping out with the community.
“I just think it’s just a really good opportunity to help people that are in need. Sometimes service opportunities are more small-scale, but this helps a wide array of different people in the community and the entire county. This is a big part of the reason why I like to volunteer at this event,” Courtney-Collins said.
He then goes on to describe what he has done in past years during the field trip.
“I usually help pack the boxes with food and supplies. The event uses an assembly line style process which makes packing boxes fast and efficient. I also help put together the boxes that we can fill with food and supplies for people who need them,” Courtney-Collins said.
LDMS Latin Teacher Laura Joyner, helps organize the Christmas Basket Program and helps facilitate student volunteers. She shares why it is so important that schools come help with the program.
“Whether volunteers are 12 or 70 years old, it’s important to serve the community to which they are a part of. Having the kids come on Friday helps show the importance of helping others,” Joyner said.
Every year, both service based clubs attend this event to help pack boxes and prepare boxes on Friday for the next day. On Saturday, the community comes together to pack boxes. Last year, they packed 40 tons of food and added warm blankets. They delivered 1,200 boxes to families in need around Rockbridge County. This program helps share the Holiday spirit around the county and for members of NHS and Interact, it is a great opportunity to help out in the community.
