What is the Giving Tree?
This year’s Giving Tree at South campus is located in the library.
Student Senate is an organization of students that plans and executes school events like homecoming, prom, blood drives, food drives, Giving Tree and more, says Arrowhead sophomore and Student Senate representative Maggie Siepmann.
Siepmann was a member of Student Senate last year, and was elected this year to be sophomore representative for the sophomore class.
Even though it is not one of the biggest events for the school, the Giving Tree an event that Siepmann is really excited about this year.
Ellie Kaiser is an Arrowhead student and said she is also “really excited about the Arrowhead tradition of the Giving Tree.”
The Giving Tree is an all-school activity in which students can take a tag off of the Christmas tree located in Arrowhead South Campus library and North Campus main entrance.
Each tag has a gift for a girl or boy on it, not toys though, says Siepmann. Items are typically necessities that families cannot buy.
Any student can participate by buying a gift, and putting it in the Student Senate room, first room when you come in from door H on the left side, so that the members of the can wrap it and deliver it to six “less fortunate families” she said.
Kaiser says that most people don’t know what the real meaning of the holidays are, to give back, and not to just get. She took part in the Giving Tree last year and plans to do the same this year. She says that she loves knowing the age of the child she is giving too because she can pick out the “perfect” gift for them that they “not only want, but sometimes need.”
“In the end more than 200 students are involved in the Giving Tree, when all the wrapping is done,” Siepmann.
Siepmann says she is really excited to deliver the gifts because she has heard that they deliveries are “so cool because the families are ecstatic that they community cares.”
Her favorite part is the idea of the community coming together and bringing joy to the community.
Kaiser does not only helps with the Giving Tree, but she also helps with her church, so she knows what that the children she is giving gifts to might like as a toy, or a special something besides the necessities. During the holidays she also participates in food drives to give food to families in need around Thanksgiving, and says it “warms her heart to be able to give back and appreciate what I have.”
Student Senate isn’t saying that they only thing to do to give back around the holidays is participating in the Giving Tree.
“We very much encourage you to give to your community and go the extra mile to make someone else’s holiday season a little more memorable, along with your own,” says Siepmann.
