Darlington High School to hold 38th Annual Old People’s Christmas
This year marks Darlington High School’s 38th Annual Old People’s Christmas food drive. Beginning 37 years ago, a teacher on the high school campus encountered an elderly member of our community who was in need and decided to lend a helping hand and engaged her students in the process. Together, they provided food for this senior citizen. The next year these same students approached the teacher and asked when they were going to collect food for the “old people”, and this was the start of what is now a school-wide, service project to feed elderly people in Darlington during the Christmas season. We are proud to say the tradition has continued and has even grown over the years.
With the help of our community, DHS collected over $5,000 and served over 109 elderly households in the Darlington area last year by collecting nonperishable food items from DHS students and other area schools as well as monetary donations from private citizens and community businesses. DHS students and faculty collect donations during the weeks prior to Christmas and then meet with members of the community and other school district employees to sort and deliver food items to those in need. This is a HUGE event that takes most of the day.
The impact this service activity has on students is one that is difficult to describe. There have been times that students leave the homes of those we have delivered to with humble hearts and tears in their eyes. There is nothing greater that man can do than to love and serve his neighbor, and DHS students learn this by participating in Old People’s Christmas. Of course, those we serve are also impacted. Imagine being elderly and on a very limited and fixed income. Now imagine having to choose between heat, medicine, or food. Imagine your parents or grandparents having to make that decision. This is reality for many. What a bright spot we can be to elderly members of our community who find themselves having to make that choice.
DHS would like to continue this tradition and help elderly members of our community. To do this, we are in need of monetary donations to help raise the money needed to purchase the food and household items we provide. If anyone would like to make a donation, they can send contributions directly to the high school. Checks should be made payable to Darlington High School (with a memo notation for the Old People’s Christmas Fund), and cash donations should be made directly to the school. Although we happily take donations at any time, this year’s event will be held Saturday, December 9th and it would be best to make donations before then.
Please contact Debra Wallace at 398-2796 or Ginger Hendricks at 398-2724 if you have questions or need further information.
