I want to say thank you to the community of Fairfield and Fairfield Township. You have made this holiday season much brighter for many families who were in need of a helping hand. Many, in fact probably most, of the families in need have children who attend our schools.

It has been heartwarming to see so much generosity and compassion.

I’m proud that our schools and our district employees played a part in this, but all this assistance wouldn’t happen without the involvement and work of many other people and organizations. A key role is played by the Butler County Success program, which employs three community liaisons who spend many hours in our kindergarten, our five elementary schools and the Intermediate School, working with students and their families. These community liaisons help compile a list of families who would appreciate a helping hand during the holiday season. Our school nurses also assist in this process.

From that list, with care taken to preserve confidentiality, there are organizations and individuals in our community who “adopt” a family or families, and arrange to help with the purchase of Christmas gifts for the children in the family, as well as food for the holidays.

The Fairfield Rotary Club is a major supporter every year, and adopted 34 families. With two or three children in most families, it is an effort that reaches far. This year Rick’s Tavern adopted 12 families, and held a fund-raiser to support those efforts. Fairfield firefighters in turn supported that effort, helping at the fund-raiser, collecting gifts, and delivering gifts. The Kiwanis Club always contributes. Our own school district employees, and employees at local companies, often form small groups and adopt one or more families.

A major boost to all this comes from some of our larger local businesses, which offer discounts and even donations to these organizations and individuals as they go shopping for their adopted families. These businesses include Jungle Jim’s, Meijer, Kroger, Costco, and the Dalton Ga. Carpet Outlet. There are many local families whose holidays have been made much brighter because of those businesses’ generosity. And the Shared Harvest Foodbank here in Fairfield has long supported these efforts, while also providing its services throughout the year.

Throughout the community and in our own schools, other examples of generosity and compassion are everywhere. The staff at East Elementary School helped a number of families. West Elementary School held an auction to help meet the needs of families. At the high school the Youth Summit Action Team sponsored a new toy drive in early December and donated all the toys to the Salvation Army. The student council at our Intermediate School collected boxes of cereal and then worked with the Lighthouse Fellowship, a United Way organization, to put them in the hands of needy families. Some of our schools had mitten, hat and glove drives. There are others, and I’m sure some I’m not even aware of. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard and gave so much to others.

In our districtwide character education program, “caring” is the character trait for December. Our community has given a wonderful lesson to all our students about caring for others.

Published in the Fairfield Echo, Dec. 27, 2007