A child in D.C. opens up a brand new toy for Christmas. A homeless man keeps warm with a new winter coat. A family of five has enough food for the winter. All thanks to Whitman students.
Numerous Whitman clubs got into the holiday spirit by donating both time and money to improving the lives of the disadvantaged.
One such club, A Model of Charity, worked to raise money for local charities through photography. The club, which was founded earlier this year by junior Michael Wertheim, sets up photo shoots for people and donates the proceeds to a variety of charities, ranging from the American Heart Association to So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.).
Wertheim explains that he got the idea for the club while driving home from a paid photography job.
“I had just finished photographing somebody’s surprise 80th birthday and received a generous check,” he says. “While driving home I saw a homeless person with a sign saying ‘Nam Vet with Cancer.’ I gave him my gas money, which was $10, and it felt really good to give back.”
This season, Wertheim, along with fellow photographer Keegan Barber, managed to raise $300 dollars to donate. He hopes that he can continue and raise more money in the new year.
Las Manos Unidas, a club that focuses on service work benefiting Hispanic people in the D.C. area and in Central and South America, held a winter clothes drive at Whitman for underprivileged Hispanic families.
The drive, held during the weeks before break, was a great success says club president Becca Golden. Over 1,000 items were collected.
“We got a call from Dr. Goodwin over the snow days saying that things had to be moved immediately because they’d piled up so high,” she said.
This spirit of benevolence was felt in numerous other clubs. Many other ones also held events over the holidays to benefit the needy.
DECA held a canned food drive to benefit the Manna Food Center, Running Strong also held a winter clothes drive and the Matthew 25:40 club went on their annual trip to Target to buy gifts for underprivileged D.C. children.
The Matthew 25:40 club takes a group of students from Washington Grove Elementary School to purchase gifts for family and friends every year. Club president Luke Rozansky believes that the trip is important because the Grove students would otherwise give or receive very little.
“Most of these kids won’t get very much—if anything—for Christmas so it is great that they can have this experience,” he says. “We take so many things for granted. We don’t think twice about getting a pair of shoes, but they are extremely grateful.”
Golden noted that sometimes people lose sight of what is important during the holiday season, making the efforts of Whitman students even more important.
“People typically spend time with family, eat delicious food and open lots of presents,” she says. “We often forget that not everyone has the opportunity to do that. While we’re indulging ourselves over the holidays we should relax and think about the people around us.”
