National Honor Society Helps More than 40 Needy Families

Last Friday, the Greenfield “Hawk Dome” looked like a well-organized rummage sale or Goodwill store with clothes, toys and non-perishable food items neatly sorted, stacked and organized.

The pristine piles of more than 6,000 clothing items, 6,000 non-perishable food items and more than 1,200 new and used toys took up most of the old gymnasium.

That is until members of more than 40 families invited by the Greenfield High School National Honor Society came in and accepted items they needed as part of the NHS Holiday Sharing Food and Toy Drive.

Seventy-members of the honor society assisted the recipients in making their selections Dec. 14 after high school students spent several weeks collecting the donated goods.

“Holiday sharing was a huge success this year,” National Honor Society president Zach Roetz told the Greenfield School Board on Monday.

Roetz said clothes were sorted by gender, age and type, making it easy for needy families to find exactly what they needed. Families were also given a bag of food items, and toys were available for families with children.

“That’s good because I know every kid doesn’t just want clothes for Christmas,” Roetz said.

In addition, nearly $5,000 was raised and used to purchase Kmart and Aldi’s gift certificates. Money was raised in various ways, including a “Pajama for a Buck Day” at the high school Dec. 7.

“NHS has been hosting Holiday Sharing for at least 20 years,” National Honor Society co-advisor and high school math teacher Lisa Frey said in a statement. “Each year, I am always worried that we won’t collect enough. But every year, our students and staff go above and beyond the previous year. NHS has made the holiday season a happy one for hundreds of children and their families over the years. I am proud of everyone involved.”

Extra clothes were donated to St. Anthony’s. The remaining food went to St. Martin of Tours Emergency Food Pantry and toys were donated to St. Francis Hospital.

Several local contributors made donations, including the Greenfield Chamber of Commerce, the Whitnall Rotary Club, Dave’s Garage and others, and local food stores / restaurants such as Ray’s Butcher Shoppe provided on-site food for the families.

“We couldn’t do it without all the help that the community and the school gives,” Roetz said.