Students from Community Consolidated School District 181 reached out this holiday season, participating in a variety of activities to help the needy. Students at each school worked with teachers, parent groups and their own leadership groups to benefit those throughout the community.

Holiday service projects this year included the following:

Clarendon Hills Middle School
The CHMS student council raised more than $400 through Jamba Juice sales for Bear Necessities, a pediatric cancer foundation. With the money they raised, students purchased gifts for the young patients for the holidays.
Arlene Berger’s eighth-grade advisory class also helped out this season, collecting gloves, mittens, coats and toiletries for needy families.

Hinsdale Middle School
Students at HMS paired up with Hinsdale Community Service to assist 30 families in need through the Outreach Program. The students adopted children and fulfilled each of their wish lists.
HMS students also assembled and packaged 2,160 nutritious meals for hungry children around the world with the non-profit organization, Feeding Children Worldwide.

Elm School
The Elm School Kids Care Club, which has more than 80 second- through fifth-grade students, collected new socks for Hinsdale Community Services “Gift of Christmas.” They also stuffed Christmas stockings with coloring books, crayons, yo-yos, erasers, pencils and cookies to deliver to Hinsdale Hospital and Hinsdale Community Services.

Madison School
Madison’s Parent Teacher Organization holiday outreach project supported 20 families with gifts. The theme was “wrapping Hinsdale in gifts” and students gathered to wrap the gifts and enjoy hot chocolate.

Monroe School
The Kids Care Club filled and wrapped shoe boxes for Coles School, their sister school in downtown Chicago. The shoe boxes included crayons, safety scissors, mittens, small stuffed toys, coloring books and other supplies.
The fourth- and fifth-graders worked with art teacher Theresa McGee on a gingerbread man that is now on display in the downtown. The students helped paint the gingerbread man in warm pajamas.

Oak School
The Kids Care Club collected gifts for William Penn School in Chicago, their sister school. After receiving more than 150 letters from sixth- through eighth-grade students, Oak families purchased one requested item from each letter. Some families even purchased gift cards for the students’ families.

Prospect School
The fourth-graders collected new toys, books, games and art projects for children at Hope Children’s Hospital who are waiting for or recovering from surgeries.
Students also had a caroling party Dec. 18 and sung at homes of residents having trouble getting outside.

The Lane School
The second-graders collected food for the Hinsdale Community Service Food Pantry, which helps neighbors in need in the seven surrounding villages.
The third-graders decorated the entrance of the Wellness House to lift the spirits of cancer patients and their families. All third-graders made three ornaments in their classrooms and many went with their parents to hang them on two trees at the Wellness House that were donated by two school families.

Walker School
Giving and Sharing, students collected toys, books, food and money. The toys and food were donated to Hinsdale Community Service, and the money went to WGN Neediest Children’s Fund and to the Brookfield Zoo for their adopted Amur leopard, Anya.