St. Charles East High elves crafting away for charity
Remember the joy of opening a present on Christmas morning to discover it was EXACTLY the toy you wanted, but were sure you would never get?
That joy inspires the woodworking students at St. Charles East High School to make like Santa's elves every fall. They craft items to sell at an auction to raise money to buy gifts for the students at Mooseheart residential school.
About 125 students are making toys, furniture and decorative items. They will sell them Dec. 14 at the “Saints Helping Santa” auction for parents, teachers and administrators. In past years, they've netted about $9,000. It costs the school about $2,000 for the supplies for the project. A staff member's husband has donated $1,000 each year for the supplies; the rest comes out of the auction proceeds.
Many of the items are engraved with the school's fleur-de-lis logo. They range from small, simple airplanes and choo-choo locomotives to a two-seat glider. There's going to be a dollhouse, ottomans, Adirondack chairs and more.
It is the eighth year the school has done this. Principal Bob Miller brought the idea with him from Lake Zurich High School.
Mooseheart asks its children in preschool through fifth grade what one toy they really hope want to receive. And children in sixth through 12th grades are given gift cards. Any money leftover is given to Mooseheart. The school, located between Batavia and North Aurora, serves about 250 children who come from families that are unable to care for them.
Kaitlyn Horstman, a senior, has been working on the dollhouse since January. She participated in the program last Christmas, too. Most East students, she said “go through life with so much. To see their (Mooseheart students') faces light up when they get the exact toy they wanted” is special, she said.
Teacher Jim McCarthy said the woodworking students learn, even as they present their items at the auction. “They see the value of their project and how it is helping others. They see the value of their handiwork,” he said.