On November 26, 2018 the National Spanish Honor Society (NSHS) held a day dedicated to Operation Christmas Child, a Christian International Relief organization that helps kids in need throughout many countries. These boxes were made to be distributed in Mexico. This event allowed students to volunteer and help make a change. Jamie Claire says, “I wanted to help children who don’t have as much as we do in the U.S.” With all their help this year, NSHS broke their previous record, actually packing 88 shoe boxes this year.

This year, the gifts that were given were personal items (soap, toothbrushes, etc.), toys, and school supplies for children ages 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Julie Marshall, one of the leaders for NSHS says, “they enjoy the process of bringing in supplies to donate, packing and wrapping the boxes knowing they will be delivered to a child in need.”

Not only were the kids receiving special gifts, but these students were also gaining new experiences. Callista Tran explains, “I really loved the environment that was happening when we were wrapping the gifts! It was very welcoming, cozy, and happy; I felt like we were all there for a good cause and it was nice to forget about all the stresses for awhile.”

After all the gifts are wrapped, they pack and wrap the shoe boxes  and take them to a local church. From there they are taken to the Denver area processing center, checked for safety of contents inside the shoe boxes, and delivered to other countries.  From there, they work to the processing center and ship out to other countries, which probably takes a period of 3-4 weeks.

Operation Christmas Child  happens annually here at EHS, and it really helps establish unity and opportunities for the students that take part in this. Rishab Sodhi says, “It was really cool that we were packing shoeboxes for kids out of this country, so it’s not really affecting us domestically, but it’s affecting us internationally. It’s crazy how we have the power from our fingers to affect people globally.”

Marshall continued, “It means so much to give back to others recognizing how fortunate we are to have so much in our lives. That is the intent of this worthwhile service project.  It brings me so much joy to see how involved the honor society members are every November when we gear up for this task. They enjoy the process of bringing in supplies to donate, packing and wrapping the boxes knowing they will be delivered to a child in need.”

Helping young ones in need and creating a change is what the organization stands for and it’s so easy to make a change. Marshall explains, “Eaglecrest students do not have to be a member of NSHS to participate in this worthwhile service project.  Anyone in the community can help donate supplies for us to pack and wrap every November. Many of the children the gifts are delivered to will only receive this one gift for the holidays and you are making a difference in their lives.”

This holiday NSHS is encouraging giving to those in need and through this organization, it is opening the eyes of many and helping them create many meaningful experiences. These give gifts are sure to have an impact on the future of these kids and give them more holiday spirit to celebrate.