With the holiday season just past us, it is important to acknowledge some of the kind-hearted services that come along with this time. In the Morris Hills community, members of the HOPE Club were able to spread the holiday spirit to thousands of children in over 110 countries through its annual event Operation Holiday Child. This year, the club focused on a subset of children that usually receives the least amount of donations: boys ages 10-14. Every week, the HOPE Club asked for donations from the Morris Hills community which included items such as jump ropes, t-shirts, notebooks, and more. However, three weeks into collecting donations from the Morris Hills student body, OHC group leaders Ananya Vasireddy, Jessie Fan, and Rachel Oh began to realize that they were falling short of their target. As a result, Ananya reached out to the Red Cross Club of Parsippany High School and proposed a joint effort collection of donations for OHC. In addition to the generosity of the Parsippany High School Red Cross Club, the MH staff has greatly contributed to the success of OHC by making donations to the cause on a Jeans Day. The funds that were collected from the Jeans Day were able to completely cover the shipping costs of the gifts to their destinations.

In order to ensure that the gifts would arrive to their destination on time, the HOPE Club began to wrap boxes of gifts in November. Each box was filled with presents and wrapped alongside a card made by the HOPE Club. In total, the HOPE Club was able to fill and donate 33 boxes, a new record for the club!