Tough times no problem for Rosary High School's giving

Holiday Hopes Day - when students adopt less fortunate families to help make a brighter holiday - is an institution at Rosary High School in Aurora.

But with the stock market declining and unemployment rising, the school administration had doubts about pulling it off this year.

"These difficult economic times have hit our families as well, and we wanted to be sensitive to that," said Sandy Iwanski, campus minister at the all-girl Catholic high school.

But the students wanted to play Christmas elf this year, too. So the school took a different approach to raising funds to buy the gifts.

"Instead of the individual homerooms being responsible for a certain number of families, we approached it as a community, like the early Christians," Iwanski said. "We read in Acts how everyone in the early church contributed, and all needs were met. So we told everyone to bring in what they could, anonymously, even if it was only a dollar."

All the contributions from the 480 students were to be brought to the school on one day in late October. When the money was counted, there was $14,277.06.

"It was extraordinary, a leap of faith," said Iwanski.

Earlier this week, the students wrapped the gifts they had purchased before the families came to claim them. The families are from St. Peter School and St. Therese School in East Aurora, schools administered by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, the same order that sponsors Rosary. There were other contributions. The Latin Club made each family a fleece blanket, and the Spanish Club brought towels.

Holiday Hopes Day went on, and so did an important tradition.

"Holiday Hopes Day is a big part of who we are," Iwanski said. "It's a defining piece of what it means to be a Rosary girl."

"It is the most amazing, undescribable feeling," said senior Deborah Happ of Aurora, who was part of the day for the fourth time. "It makes me feel so blessed to see that we can all help each other. We helped as a community, as Aurora, as Illinois, as a nation. It means that 25 families will have a Christmas. It's giving hope."