Students in Churchville-Chili High School’s Functional Life Skills class got back in the game this year after two years off due to the pandemic – renewing their annual tradition of handcrafting holiday decorations to raise money for a community organization. This time around, they chose to support the Willie Bee Foundation, a nonprofit that benefits local families with a child facing life-threatening illness, donating almost $600 in cash and gifts. In addition, they donated 60 pairs of socks, purchased with funds from their Unified Saints Café coffee cart business, to the Open Door Mission.
“Since the holiday craft projects began in 2005, the Life Skills class has raised over $12,945 for charity,” said teacher Margaret Brongo. “Students are thankful to our supportive customers, who are members of our district educational community. Our crafters love the fact that their work and creativity can make a difference in the lives of others. The students take this very seriously and faculty members look forward to backing the project every winter.”
The 2021 holiday season saw the group fulfilling orders for 117 white sock snowmen, filled with rice and decorated with colorful scarves, pom-poms, buttons and happy faces. Ultimately, $593.98 was donated to their charity of choice, the Willie Bee Foundation (https://www.thewilliebeefoundation.org). The organization was founded in 2017 by Clay and Christine Beeman, who lost their son to cancer. Christine teaches English at Churchville-Chili High School.
Over the past 16 years, Life Skills classes have crafted a variety of charming elves, mice, penguins, reindeer, and polar bears from socks and rice. Proceeds from the project have gone to Golisano Children’s Center, Ronald McDonald House, American Cancer Society, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Honor Flight, Make a Wish, Lollypop Farm, The American Red Cross, School of the Holy Childhood, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Camp Smile, The Dream Factory, Gigi’s Playhouse, and Homesteads for Hope.
“The holiday craft project is the perfect opportunity to apply the skills we learn and practice in the classroom,” said Brongo. “Most of the orders this year were taken online, but students still learned interpersonal communication skills, like greeting customers and delivering orders. They learned how to measure rice for the filling, and practiced writing and replying to emails. They also used soft skills needed for employment, like following directions, getting along with coworkers, and exercising quality control.”
In addition to the annual holiday craft, students also practice vocational and interpersonal skills through the classroom’s coffee cart business – taking orders and delivering hot chocolate and coffee to staff and teachers at the high school. Running this small business gives students the chance to interact with customers, handle money, manage inventory, and build confidence. The Unified Saints Café has been sidelined since the beginning of the pandemic, but everyone is hoping it will start again soon.
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