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CORTLANDT, N.Y. Over 40 students gathered near the main office in Blue Mountain Middle School to stand near the Giving Tree, a Christmas tree decorated with the name of students who brought in presents for the elderly during the holiday season. The presents collected by homeroom representatives will be brought to Bethel and Skyview Nursing Homes in Croton.
Its the only presents theyre going to get, so its not only benefiting my community its benefiting individuals, said Andrea Persaud, an eighth grade student at Blue Mountain.
He said the biggest obstacle for students collecting presents is convincing their parents that its a just cause. Since middle school students are too young to have jobs, they rely on their parents who have already been asked to donate a month earlier for Thanksgiving fundraisers. We do this one after another, so it can get stressful. Its just a matter of convincing them its a good cause, he said.
Aa little less than 80 students all together travel to Skyview and Bethel in buses to deliver the presents. Photo albums, wallets, crossword puzzles and picture frames will all travel with them, the gifts divided into male and female categories.
The students will spend about an hour and a half with the residents of the two nursing homes. Some people are three, four hours away from their family, just to get the service they need, said Emily Sullivan, a seventh grader. Her own grandfather spent time in a nursing home, and she said the trip reminded her how important it is to spend time with him.
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