Career center students and staff aid area families in need
Wayne County Schools Career Center students and staff have been busy helping area families in need this holiday season.SkillsUSA members assisted 15 area families in stocking their cupboards this holiday season, thanks to the work of principal Paul Brockett, SkillsUSA advisor Pamela Vorkapich, and more than 35 students who helped with the annual food drive. Chantel Cain, SkillsUSA president, helped organize the drive. Students from all programs donated items individually or as a career-technical program.
The students planned everything from making posters and announcements, to recording all donated items, counting donated funds, organizing the items, packing them into boxes for each family, then delivering or helping load items for the families.
The drive began Dec. 1 and took in $3,200 in donations, and more than 1,000 cans, then staff members went shopping to buy more groceries and household items with the cash donations. Some nonperishable donations also came from the College of Wooster.
Contests were held to bring in more items and money for the drive, including a spirit chain in the cafeteria, which was won by the junior class. Each career-technical program also competed to see which programs could bring in the most money or items.
In first place was Precision Machining, with an average of 500 items per student; second place, Landscape & Plant Technologies, with 230 items per student; third place, Carpentry with 186 items per student; fourth place, Construction Technologies with 176 items per student; and fifth, Practical Nursing with 80 items per student. Each dollar counted as five cans.
All career-technical programs also donated toys related to their programs for the Student Leadership Council Toys from the Trades drive that were distributed by the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots program.
Key Club and National Honor Society members adopted a family in the school who lost everything in a fire. They collected many gift cards and gifts for the family from staff and students. Business Professionals of America members also adopted a family through the Salvation Army.
Other career center community service activities this holiday season were: Pre-Nursing caroling and doing a Christmas skit at Smithville-Western Long Term Care Facility; Landscape & Plant Technologies delivering 20 cases of citrus fruits to People to People Ministries of Wooster and poinsettias to Smithville-Western; Business Professionals of America members caroling and making Christmas cards for residents at Brenn-Field Nursing Center; Hospitality donating blankets, hats, gloves, and coats to People to People ministries; and Practical Nursing students helping to serve Thanksgiving dinner at Glendora Nursing Home. Medical assisting students went to Sunrise Assisted Living and Horn Nursing Home where they helped residents decorate holiday ornaments, and hosted a Red Cross blood drive. Students ringing bells for the Salvation Army were from Carpentry and Construction Technologies, and Business Professionals of America.