Christmas Shoebox Project 2023: Community Connections

This holiday season, you may have noticed there was no community-wide shoebox drive as in the past. That is because of the generosity of all our PPS and St. Patrick teams, classes, and community groups who participated last year and a few generous donors this year.

The Christmas Shoebox project is part of the Portland Community Fund Association’s Christmas Giving Program. The PCFA “provides dinner, socks, hats, gloves to individuals and families in the Portland Michigan School District. In addition, children receive gifts and a shoe-box filled with goodies, [and] residents of local nursing homes receive personal care items.” The mission of the Portland Michigan Community Fund is “to enhance the quality of life for all citizens, now and for generations to come.” So, this community organization also conducts an annual coat drive, partners with Backpacks for Bellies, and provides grants to community organizations among other community support. For more information and to see the list of board members, go to http://www.portlandcommunityfund.org/

For Portland High School, the shoebox portion became a tradition in the 1990’s under the leadership of now retired PHS teacher, Phil Huber. Originally, Huber worked with Samaritan's Purse through his Communications classes along with his wife, Lydia. Later, Ron Green would help the project take on a local presence, and it joined with the PCFA in the early 2000’s. The project grew quickly, and within a few years the Hubers, Ron and Linda Hoxie-Green, Vicki Clarey, Robert and Gayle Lardie, and other PHS staff were filling hundreds of boxes for local families with generous donations from PHS students, staff, and other community groups. Kacy Goeckel, a current PCFA member, directed the PHS participation while she taught at the high school, and has remained active on the community level.

With each change of the project’s leadership, it has grown and transformed to fit community needs. Huber reminisces about feedback from some of the past recipients with such comments as, “The shoeboxes were my child’s favorite present under the tree!” The Hubers continue to shop for the infant items year round and provided those again this year. Huber adds, “numbers have changed through the years from 50 to 75 and some years . . . up to over 360 boxes being filled and delivered . . . I am overjoyed that it is still being continued and that community support has grown.”

This year, PHS teacher and YAC advisor, Theresa Getchell, directed the shoebox project with the YAC group she advises as their local service project. With guidance from PCFA Board member, Lisa Balderson, a team of Getchell, Crystal Lowe (PHS Student Council Advisor), and Erin Martin (St. Patrick Capstone Advisor) created a plan to use the resources they already had and add recent donations to complete all shoeboxes. The students then spent weeks sorting and organizing items, collecting wrapped shoe boxes, and packing the shoe boxes with age-appropriate, quality items for every child in families that had applied. Getchell commends, “All of the student volunteers are amazing! They worked hard (with extra help from our St. Patrick student sponsors), to make sure each child got as many items as we could pack and at least an item or two from their requests. It was truly special to watch them put so much care into packing for each child individually. I wish I could name all the student council members who helped, but thanks to Crystal Lowe for helping organize, too.” The 2023-2024 YAC students are: Lily Bowers (12), Eddie Hill (12), Annabelle Bower (11), Anna Heath (11), Rylee Miller (10), Sia Patel (10), Christine Svanda (10)

With a surplus of quality items for all ages and some private donors to fill the gaps, there was no need for a shoebox drive. Two St. Patrick students had completed their Capstone project towards the shoeboxes and helped complete them all. According to St. Patrick teacher and Capstone advisor, Erin Martin, this was “a community-based service project that allows each student to pay forward their time, talents, and/or treasures. Students find a mentor teacher/adult to help plan and execute the project. Emily Snitgen and Janelle Dugan chose to help with the Portland Community Fund because they recognize the need of all children to have a joyful childhood.” The girls began in September by collecting money through a can drive, and raised over $800 to purchase wrapping paper and shoe box items. With this generous donation plus another $300 from an anonymous donor, the PHS/ St. Patrick team filled over 160 boxes and every box had at least one item the child had listed as a request. It was a collective effort building old and new community connections.