The Service & Learning Center teamed up with several charities to supply underprivileged families with gifts and toys for their children.
“It’s a really good way to bring the community together,” Project Coordinator Laren Lowder said.
The project has been going on for more than ten years, Lowder said.
The way the project works is that every year there is a sponsor who takes over the project.
This year, SUU took the sponsorship. The Service & Learning Center worked with the Iron County Care and Share and other community charities to give gifts and other necessities to underprivileged families.
“We began advertising in October by sending out letters to local businesses and churches, asking for sponsors,” Lowder said.
The sponsors and businesses then gathered data from families around the community, such as what their children wanted and needed for Christmas.
"Each business does something to help out,” Lowder said. “Staples supplied the Angel Tree ornaments and Walmart helped out with 111 family names.”
Morgan Gibson, a junior elementary education major from Clarksville, Tenn., was involved in the data gathering part of the project.
“We organized the paper work and made sure that the families got the stuff they needed,” Gibson said.
The next part of the project consisted of sorting and packaging all the different gifts for the families.
Jamie Joseph, a senior elementary education major from Delta, helped sort the gifts for the families.
“I felt like one of Santa’s helpers bringing gifts to those who didn’t think that they would have a Christmas,” Joseph said.
“The gifts and toys would all be put into different piles,” said Hilary Broderick, a freshman psychology major from Genola. “We had to go through and make sure that the right things went to the right places.”
Candace Rowley, a freshman exercise science major from Santaquin, said participating in the service project was “amazing.”
“I really enjoyed picking out the different presents to put in a package to send to a family,” she said. “It made me realize how a simple toy can change someone’s Christmas.”
Broderick said helping out with this project was a great experience.
“It was nice to be able to give kids a Christmas that they wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Broderick said.
Gibson said she was “amazed by the generosity of people” and surprised to see how many other community members were willing to help.
“I was really impressed that so many people were willing to give so much to others,” she said. “So many people were reaching out to help others, even when they were struggling with Christmas themselves.”
Joseph said she came to understand the “true meaning of Christmas” through this project.
“It doesn’t matter what you get for Christmas,” she said. “It matters how you have helped others enjoy the blessings of the Christmas season.”
The service project showed how neighbors in Cedar City help others, Lowder said.
“This project gives people the opportunity to see a side of Cedar City that doesn’t normally get seen,” Lowder said. “A lot of people stepped up and sacrificed to help out the underprivileged families.”
For those who are interested in getting involved with the Service & Learning Center, visit the center at 185 S. 300 West. Students can sign up to receive e-mails that will have information about upcoming projects.
“That’s how I got involved,” Gibson said. “I received an e-mail letting me know about it and I got involved.”
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