By Alex Minella
In 2013, the McNicholas Student Council began sponsoring Gifts for Hope, a program that benefits The Hope Emergency Center in Brown County. Now in its 12th year, the Gifts for Hope continues but is ran by C.R.E.W. leadership. This year, McNicholas had a total of 115 boxes filled with games, hats, gloves, toiletry items, and so much more.
Mr. Todd Naumann, Student Cultural Coordinator, history teacher, and varsity football coach, said his role in this program is to ensure that each C.R.E.W. class contributes by bringing in boxes filled with both essential and fun items for local teens in Brown County. The Hope Emergency Center then distributes these donations.
According to Naumann, this effort is a friendly competition between the C.R.E.W. classes, aimed at encouraging participation and maximizing the impact. Naumann said the goal is for each of the 36 C.R.E.W. classes to create four boxes, which would hopefully result in a total of 144 boxes. This collective effort can make a “significant difference in the lives of those in need, and it’s inspiring to see students rallying together for such a noble cause,” Naumann said.
Mrs. Val Combs’s C.R.E.W., who brought in the most boxes at 15, had a unique system to bring in their supplies. Combs, who is one of McNick’s Intervention Specialists in the SAIL Department, collected money from students and then bought the supplies to contribute. She said students also brought in additional supplies to fill the boxes. They brought in 5 boxes on the early drop-off day and 10 on the 2nd day. She said her C.R.E.W. was very inspired by how these boxes of self-care supplies would get to teens in need. “Hopefully [the teens] feel the generosity and care of others,” Combs said.
The McNicholas Milestone 