Palatine H.S. teens donate 350 gifts to those in need

For more than 11 years, students at Palatine High School have donated gifts as part of Palatine Township's Angel Tree Program. This year the students donated more than 350 gifts to 100 recipients, which were delivered to Palatine Township on Thursday, Nov. 30.

Jim Nowak, a math teacher and student council adviser at Palatine High School called this a great success.

"Knowing this is going to those in need in our community is a great feeling," Nowak said.

Each year Palatine Township hosts an Angel Tree. The tree is filled with names of children and seniors in need throughout the community. Among the details with each name is the individuals three wishes.

Lori Lindberg, Palatine Township's Community Outreach coordinator, said the students from Palatine were very generous.

"It seems to me, they filled the wishes and then some," Lindberg said.

Katie Lindert, Student Council president and a senior at Palatine High School, said clubs and organizations throughout the school each took one of the 100 names, then worked to fill the wishes with that individual. Once all the gifts were turned in to the student council, students loaded them on a school bus for delivery to the Palatine Township office.

"Seeing their reaction when we pulled up was an unforgettable experience," Lindert said.

Lindberg said people were in awe when they saw the donation from the school.

"It's always a joy to see the bus pull up," Lindberg said. "We love when they drop off the gifts."

Nowak, who has advised the student council for more than a decade, said the Angel Tree program is one of the top events for the organization each year.

"We really hope to see it grow," he said. "This year we had 100 names. Maybe next year we could take 150."