A group of Hal High students are once again working hard in the lead up to the holidays to ensure no County-based youth feels forgotten this Christmas season.
The school’s Interact Club is bringing its teen toy drive back for another year – launching Dec. 1, the group is raising money and accepting donated items that are handed out to underprivileged kids to enjoy on Christmas.
Demand has spiked in recent years, says Interact members Aurora Wesley and Hazel Jones. In 2023, the club gave away 52 goodie bags to students, while last year they did 70 gift bags. The pair are hoping to at least match that again.
“We see every day just how big the need is,” Jones told The Highlander. Wesley added, “lots of people in our school are struggling. The past few years, the food banks have taken everything we’ve gathered, and been so thankful, so that tells us just how important this is. We’re trying to do as many as we can.”
The packages are made up of toys, games, gift cards, school supplies, hats, mitts, scarves and hygiene products, which are separated into individual packages and donated to the 4Cs Food Bank in Haliburton, Central Food Network in Highlands East and the Minden Community Food Centre.
The school community has been busy this week – there was hot chocolate sold on Monday, a buy-in movie during lunch on Tuesday, and a cookie decorating contest Wednesday. Thursday will see students decorating cardboard boxes – meant to represent life-sized gingerbread houses – with the winner earning a pizza party for their class, with hot apple cider to be sold on Friday. Wesley said the group is hoping to raise at least $2,000.
Jones says donations will be accepted until Dec. 10 – while it’s being pushed as a school-based effort, she said the group is welcoming contributions from the wider community. Cash or items can be dropped off at the high school office, while cheques are to be made out to ‘Interact Club of HHSS’.
“There’s always lots going on for younger kids, but we don’t see as much for teens over the holidays. The Interact club started doing this to bridge that gap,” Wesley said.
“Toys might not be the best sort of thing for this age group. We’re recommending gift cards… or things like headphones, chargers, cozy socks and hygiene products.”
Future plans
The club boasts about 20 members this year. For Jones and Wesley, this is year four, with the pair joining Interact in 2021 as Grade 9 freshmen.
“We’re affiliated with Haliburton Rotary, so our motto is ‘service above self’. We all love giving back to our community, volunteering, and helping out with important fundraisers and causes every year,” Wesley said.
One new initiative the group is hoping to roll out sometime in 2026 is a babysitting night at Hal High – where students offer complimentary services to parents wanting to enjoy an evening alone. Wesley said Interact members want to host something a couple of times a year, welcoming children into the gym for games and reading.
“It’ll be something really fun for the kids and also gives parents a break. We know there’s a lot of poverty in our area, so it might be unaffordable for some parents to find private childcare for a night,” Wesley said. “Parents can use the time to schedule a date night, or just get some extra things done around the house.”
