Schools
Christmas Wishes Come True
Students from Kell High School raised money to provide Christmas gifts for "Little Longhorns."
student and faculty volunteers helped make the holidays a little brighter for families in need by hosting the school’s fifth annual “Shop with a Longhorn” at on Saturday
Each year, students in need are chosen from Kell’s five feeder elementary schools, , , , and with each child receiving $40 to spend on themselves and $60 to spend on their families.
Recipients meet Kell where they are paired up with a team of student shopping helpers from the school’s sports teams, orchestra and various clubs. The students and children are then bused to Walmart.
Kell principal, Trudie Donovan, explained that the program began five years ago, with a $500 donation from .
“North Cobb gave us the $500 seed money to start the program,” said Donovan. "Through the hard work of Ben Needle, a member of our student advisory council, and Laurie Peterson who is in charge of our AVID program, the event continues to grow each year. We were able to sponsor 98 children this year.”
“Kell has even been able to pay it forward to by donating $500 for their own holiday shopping program,” she said.
Yearly funding for the holiday shopping event is based on sales and fundraising by Kell students, as well as donations from the Kennesaw Business Association, the Northeast Cobb Business Association and Walmart.
Adding to the festive atmosphere at Saturday’s event, members of the Kell High School band and choral group greeted each student shopper and their helpers with a variety of traditional Christmas music.