Our Ken-Ton students & staff give back to our local community throughout the entire year, but during the holiday season, our school family goes above and beyond with kindness and generosity. Check out all the ways our students and staff made the holiday season a little brighter for local families!
Kenmore West High School
One of the biggest events at Kenmore West is the Community Club’s annual Holiday Party, which brings together families from across the Ken-Ton community. On Saturday, December 7th, youngsters and their families enjoyed a fun-filled day of crafts, holiday activities, cookie decorating, games, and more.
The Kenmore West High School Freestyle Shop opened its doors on December 18th and 19th for students to shop for their friends and family. The shop, located inside the high school, is filled with items generously donated by Kenmore West staff and faculty. Students were able to use their “West Best” tickets to purchase items like clothing, accessories, toys, home décor, and more. If they didn’t find something they liked, they could use their tickets to enter raffle drawings for gift cards to local eateries.
Like Kenmore East, Kenmore West held a Thanksgiving food drive led by the Student Council. From November 14th-25th, students brought in non-perishable items and donated them in a teacher’s name. The teacher with the most items donated wore a turkey costume to school on November 26th.
The Kenmore West High School Freestyle Shop was also up and running, thanks to the work-based learning program, and Melissa Magaris and Carol O'Dell. Students in Gr. 8-12 were able to use their "West Best" tickets to purchase holiday gifts for their loved ones. The shop had everything from clothing, books, games, jewelry, and more and were all donated by staff members and faculty at Kenmore West. Students who didn't find anything they like could use their West Best tickets to enter a holiday raffle featuring gift cards from local eateries!
Kenmore East High School
Throughout the month of November, Kenmore East High School held its annual Gobblin’ Up Hunger campaign where students bring in non-perishable items to be donated to Kenmore East families and the community. The food drive, led by the Student Congress, has been a yearly tradition since the early 2000s and has resulted in more than 3,000 items being donated. A special incentive involves teachers volunteering to dress up as the “Biggest Turkey”. Anyone who donates gets to select the teacher of their choosing to wear a full turkey costume to school for the day. This year’s biggest turkey was Mr. Paul Lasch who had more than 1,000 items donated in his name. Overall, Kenmore East was able to deliver 200 boxes of food/gift cards to over 40 Kenmore East families.
Kenmore Junior/Senior High School
Santa’s Workshop was once again a huge success at Kenmore Junior/Senior High School, thanks to Big Picture 401 student Hannah who took on the workshop as her community project. Each year, students in the building (Big Picture, Crossroads Academy, and Ken-Ton Adult & Community Education) are able to shop for and wrap gifts for their family members with all items free of charge. The workshop is stocked with jewelry, lotion, toys, books, etc. thanks to generous donations from the school's staff members and support staff members throughout the district. WGRZ, a local TV station here in Buffalo, did a story on Santa's workshop. You can view that story by clicking here.
Franklin Middle
The Franklin Middle School Council coordinated a food drive for the school's food pantry, which assists families in the community who face food insecurity.
Several students also made cards for patients at O'Shei Children's Hospital who will be spending all or part of the holiday season away from home.
Hoover Middle School
Hoover Middle School held their own Turkey Suit food drive and raised over 1,000 food donations. Rather than have students donate items in a teacher’s honor, the student and staff member who donated the most food items got to wear matching turkey suits for the day. Mrs. DePasquale was the staff winner while Izzy Martinez, who collected over 425 donations, was the student winner. The food collected benefited Hoover families.
The school also held a "Socktober" drive in October where they collected more than 500 pairs of socks for the Ken-Ton Closet.
Edison Elementary School
Throughout the month of December, Edison Elementary held two different drives to benefit families. From December 2nd-18th, students brought in hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, and warm socks to benefit the local community. These donated items were hung as ornaments on the “Tree of Warmth” which was located by the main entrance. The school also held a Pajama Drive from November 12th-December 18th where students brought in new or like-new pajamas. These sets were distributed to families at Edison, with the rest going to the Ken-Ton Closet.
Edison teachers and staff also worked together to organize and pack-up holiday gifts for 44 students in 31 Edison families. Gift items were generously donated by Edison teachers & staff, members of the Ken-Ton Transportation Department, Tonawanda American Legion, First Trinity Church, St. Paul's Catholic Church and Crestmount Senior Apartments.
Franklin Elementary School
Students, staff, and families helped several in need through the school’s annual Teddy Bear Wish List project. Families in need of some extra help this season were able to provide "wish list items" on a teddy bear ornament that was hung up for staff members to select. They also collected food items and gave those families boxes of non-perishable items and toiletries. Staff members were able to dress down during themed days by bringing in a pantry item or two.
Fourth grade students in the K-Kids Club also gave back this holiday season by thinking of others. Several students made handmade holiday cards for patients at Kenmore Mercy Hospital.
Holmes Elementary School
This holiday season, Holmes Elementary School partnered with Kenmore Mercy Hospital to bring a little holiday cheer. Students in grades 2-4 displayed their creativity and made handmade holiday cards for patients who will be spending the holidays in the hospital. The cards were delivered to patients in mid-December.
Hoover Elementary School
The “Hoover Helping Hands” campaign, spearheaded by social worker Susan Sperrazza, is one of the biggest giving efforts at Hoover Elementary School. The campaign helps families in the community by providing them with gifts, food donations, and other necessities.
Lindbergh Elementary School
Throughout the month, Lindbergh Elementary encouraged students to give back by bringing in toiletry items. The donated items were put underneath a large tree in the school’s gymnasium. Students who brought in items were given a special ornament to write their names on and hang on the “Giving Tree” to represent their kindness and generosity. All the items will be donated to the Ken-Ton Closet.
The school also held their annual Lindbergh Holiday Food Basket program in November, where students and staff were able to bring in non-perishable food items or make a monetary donation to help purchase Save-A-Lot gift cards. The drive benefited around 25 Lindbergh families.
