Lending a helping hand during the holiday season is important to the members of the Practical Business Club and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at Niagara County Community College. Together both groups on campus were able to collect enough donated items to create ten thanksgiving dinner baskets for families in need. Approximately twenty students participated this year logging over forty volunteer hours.
This is the second year thanksgiving items were collected and given to deserving families. As an advisor to both the business club and honor society, Professor Paul Ratka works with NCCC’s Child Development Center to identify families that could use some additional help during the holiday season. Once families are identified, students are sent a list of items needed to fill the baskets. This year baskets included a whole turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pie, and more! Each basket also included a small toy for children within the family. Students like Phi Theta Kappa member Kathleen Chiarella donated hats and scarfs that she knitted.
Once all of the items were collected, students and advisors from both clubs came together to assemble the baskets before families came to pick them up. “It was wonderful to see so many students come together in the spirit of giving this holiday season,” said Madison Ackerman, Phi Theta Kappa co-advisor. “Students took the time to assemble baskets, decorate them, and wait patiently for families to arrive in order to deliver baskets to their cars. Many of the families receiving the baskets expressed their sincere gratitude.”
