Holiday Generosity Is Elementary for Carver, Valentine Students

With the giving season in full swing, both Carver and Valentine elementary schools are well into their annual charitable traditions in observance of the holidays.
At Carver, students are running the Back to the Basics Drive, collecting toiletries, socks and card games that will be donated to Maryvale Orphanage. At Valentine, the annual Pajama Drive is back, culminating with Pajama Day this Friday, Dec. 13, as students and staff tally the garments that have been collected.
Carver students are bringing a variety of supplies to class each day, with items designated by grade: toothbrushes are being brought by kindergartners, toothpaste by 1st-graders, body wash or bar soap by 2nd-graders, shampoo or conditioner by students in grade 3, socks by those in grade 4 and either deodorant or playing cards by 5th-graders. The Carver Student Council selects a holiday drive project every year.
“The students, they go and choose a project,” Principal Michael Lin explained. “We recently did the Candy Drive after Halloween. Now we’re doing a holiday drive. It’s a kindness drive. It’s caring about the community. It’s giving back. It’s students being grateful for what they have, and being able to have an avenue to share and be kind.”
Students are bringing donation items to their classrooms, where they’re being collected in boxes. Target or Walmart gift cards are also being taken, and will be used to purchase more of the requested items. The collection continues through Wednesday, Dec. 18.
At Valentine, the Pajama Drive returns for a 10th year, tasking students with bringing in sets of nighttime clothing that will benefit children in a variety of circumstances, including those in transitional family situations. Last year, pajamas were donated to families displaced by wildfires.
Through Friday, students are dropping off their purchased pajama sets in a box at the school’s traffic circle. Students and staff get to wear their own pajamas to school that day in observance of the charity drive.
“For us, it’s a really good opportunity for our children and families together to be able to give back to the community, and it’s something students can help pick out. They get really excited about the pajamas they chose for another child,” Valentine Principal Colleen Shields said.