McDowell County Christmas Shoebox Project still short of goal
December 13, 2012 ·
Winfield High School student council is collecting items to fill shoe boxes for children in McDowell County. The group is far from its goal and time is running out.
A West Virginia high school student needs help to make the season a little brighter for children in one Southern West Virginia County.
During the month of December, charities, groups, religious organizations, and workplaces alike seem to get in the holiday spirit by donating items to the needy across the globe. Winfield High School Student Council president Jillian Carney made it her mission to collect items to send to children in McDowell County.
"I have been raised that while helping other countries and helping all kinds of people is fabulous you have to remember your own," she said. "If you want to change the world you have to start locally."
She learned about the challenges McDowell County children face, such as high poverty rates, during the West Virginia Association of Student Council conference in October.
"It was definitely something that I didn’t think twice about," she said. "I knew I wanted to help McDowell County some way. And I thought since the holidays were coming up nothing could be better than making sure the kids had Christmas gifts."
Carney says members of the Reconnecting McDowell Project have helped with the project. Carney and other student council members are collecting things like washcloths, and toothbrushes to fill shoe boxes. The goal is to hand out about 1,000 boxes, one for each elementary child in the county.
Carney says the McDowell County Christmas Shoebox Project is about 800 boxes short of the goal. The student council will take donations until early Saturday morning. Contact Winfield High School for more information.