LaBrae classmates give help to those in need

LEAVITTSBURG - Gabriella Sarnelli said she and her classmates realize the difficult time some area families are having this holiday season.

On Wednesday, Gabriella and at least 30 other students, including members of the LaBrae School District's boys seventh- and eighth-grade basketball teams and their cheerleaders, fill boxes with food. The boxes were distributed to 80 district families to help them get through Christmas break.

"It's a way to help and be part of something," Gabriella, 13, of Leavittsburg, said. "A lot of people need help right now and it's important to do what we all can to help each other."

In the past, various groups and organizations have participated in food and toy drives. This year those projects were combined with Project Holiday Back Pack, an effort initiated by the local citizens group Our Lives Count. The organization received just more than $40,000 from a lawsuit settlement and decided to put $2,000 of that money toward the holiday food-giveaway.

"With the way the economy is now and the challenging times so many people are facing, we decided we wanted to designate some money to buy supplies and help families get through the holidays a little easier," explained Debbie Roth, organization president and vice president of the LaBrae Board of Education.

The group decided to buy the food to help families feed their children while the students are at home during the two-week holiday break, Roth said. On weekdays, many of those students normally receive breakfast and lunch at school, she said.

"But when they're home for two weeks parents have to come up with supplies to feed them three meals a day," she said. "That can be a hardship. This is just a way to try to make it a little easier on those families."

The food that was purchased with the organization's donation was added to nonperishable items collected by students in grades three through five during a recent holiday food drive. Roth said student council conducted a toy drive and other groups also completed projects to help area families.

"A lot of people see the need right now and that it really is widespread," said cafeteria supervisor Lisa Jones, who helped organize the holiday giveaway project. "More and more people are coming forward needing help."

Volunteers helped pack boxes with a variety of foods, including cereal, peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti sauce and bread. Jones said organizers filled the boxes with food to cover three basic meals a day. The amount of food each family received was based on the number of children each has, she noted.

"We considered breakfast and lunch and dinner items," she said. "But even at that it's not enough for the whole two weeks. But we hope it helps. We really just want to do what we can to help.

''We're proud of the kids and all of their help and they work they've done here. It really is a districtwide effort and it's about everyone working together. It's not just one group or one person or one organization, but several groups combining their efforts to make a difference," Jones said.

vshank@tribtoday.com