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Hilltop students go Christmas shopping
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A fourth-grade student at Hilltop Elementary School browses the selection of gifts available to buy at the PTO-sponsored Santa’s Workshop Dec. 10.
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A class of fourth-graders wait their turn to shop at Hilltop Elementary School’s PTO-sponsored Santa’s Workshop.
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With the help of PTO volunteers, students at Hilltop Elementary School shopped for gifts for their family and friends during the school’s Santa’s Workshop Dec. 10.
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With the help of PTO volunteers, students at Hilltop Elementary School perused the jewelry table during the school’s Santa’s Workshop Dec. 10.
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PTO volunteers wrapped gifts the students purchased at the Hilltop Elementary School’s PTO-sponsored Santa’s Workshop Dec. 10.
By ABBY SLANKER
Hilltop Elementary School students shopped until they dropped Dec. 9-10 at the annual PTO-sponsored Santa’s Workshop. The shopping experience was staged in the school’s library and is designed to be a safe, child-centered environment where children can learn how to budget and spend wisely, while they also experience “the gift of giving.”
A form is sent home with the students a week before Santa’s Workshop which allows the students to make a list of each person they would like to buy for and create a budget for their purchases. Prices of items run from 25 cents to $5.50. Items are also available for students’ pets.
A number of volunteer members from the PTO shop year-round for items the students can buy, which gives the students the opportunity to pick out their own inexpensive, high-quality gifts for family and friends. The year-round shopping process, which focuses on buying items at a deeply discounted price, was started three years ago to be able provide the students desirable gifts as an alternative to ordering all the items from one company.
“We wanted to be able to provide the children with a variety of nice gifts to buy for their family and friends,” said Judy Pallante, a co-chair of Santa’s Workshop.
Along with Pallante, Denise Joseph and Karin Hudock served as co-chairs for Santa’s Workshop. More than 75 volunteers were involved in this year’s workshop, performing such tasks as buying the items, organizing and pricing the items, setting up the workshop, helping the children shop, wrapping the gifts and cleaning up after the workshop is over.
The PTO also received donations for the workshop, such as shopping bags from Nemenz IGA and Giant Eagle. Some Hilltop families who own local businesses also donated items and this year, Office Max in Boardman, donated staplers.
So no students will be left out of the shopping experience, the PTO donates Santa Dollars to any student who cannot shop due lack of funds.
Joseph and Hudock agreed that all the hard work is definitely worth it to see the excitement of the students and the smiles on the childrens’ faces as they shop for their families and friends.
“All the volunteers’ hard work is worth it to be able to see the children shop and to be able to provide them an opportunity to put nice gifts under their tree for their family, friends and pets,” they said.