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Gracious gift givers
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Austintown Fitch's Spirit Club sponsored a Christmas tree that donated goods to Austintown families anonymously. Spirit club members Emily Pabst (left) and Katie Keller managed to sneak in some last minute organizing of the gifts on Dec. 21.
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Spirit club members Jake Jakovina (left) and Bill McCula started piling up some of the small packages the club bought for anonymous Austintown residents. They did more heavy lifting that day as they moved expensive electronics and bigger gifts to trucks to be delivered.
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Austintown's Spirit Tree first began as Ryan's Tree, a project of guidance counselor Maribeth McGlynn (right). After McGlynn's son graduated from Fitch in 2007, adviser Donna Burnell (left) and the Spirit Club took up the task to continue the project.
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The members of the Spirit Club showed off a holiday season of hard work for needy families of the Austintown community. Members involved included, from left; (front) Emily Pabst, Katie Keller, and Kacie Roche; (back)Tyler Medovich, Shane Stevens, Bill McKula, Brandon McCloskey, and Jay Jakovina.
By SARAH FOOR
During the holiday season, the main office at Austintown Fitch High School displayed a twinkling Christmas tree with piles of presents placed underneath its branches. As beautiful as it was, the tree was about more than decoration to many staff and students at Fitch.
For senior guidance counselor Maribeth McGlynn, the tree reminded her of the past.
McGlynn’s son, a 2007 Fitch graduate, lost his best friend Ryan to Ewing’s Sarcoma at Christmas, during their sixth-grade year at Frank Ohl.
“My son started Ryan’s Tree, and we donated gifts to Austintown families going through their own tragedies,” McGlynn explained.
After many years of Ryan’s Tree, however, Ryan’s mother found reliving the tragedy every Christmas too painful.
“With the project so close to my heart,” McGlynn shared, “I’m so grateful Fitch’s Spirit Club took over.”
For the students of Spirit Club, the renamed “Spirit Tree” honors the Christmas past but has a renewed focus on the present.
Needy Austintown families not serviced by other charities were chosen and remained anonymous through the gifting process that had students and staff buying smaller, affordable items. After the spirit club raised $600 through area merchants and other donations, club adviser Donna Burnell went shopping with her students.
“Ten students traveled to the mall with me one Friday — a high schooler’s Friday, mind you — and we bought big ticket items like eReaders, iPods and other electronics.”
Student Kacie Roche remembers that day fondly.
“We were making a Christmas for a kid, even if we didn’t know who they were.”
Whether the tree helped some look back and others forward, spirit club member Shane Stevens understood what it meant for Austintown.
“We’re always supporting our Falcon family,” Stevens said.