“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
― Winston S. Churchill
Hello AAPS Community,
Giving generously to help others in our schools and community is in the very nature of our Ann Arbor Public Schools organization.
The Ann Arbor Public Schools students, staff, parents, and community regularly participate in a many giving programs throughout the year, and while all these efforts have wide-reaching impact on our students and school communities, they truly make a difference during this holiday season for so many of our children and families.
One of many inspiring examples of our giving in Ann Arbor is the Magic of Christmas Foundation, started by Debbie Williams-Hoak, which has served AAPS students for more than 10 years. This very generous program has expanded over recent years to help our growing number of families with needs during the holidays. Last year, this program served more than 350 students and their families and this year, due to the increase in need throughout the county, it will serve approximately 250 AAPS students and families. The program provides warm clothing and gifts for all the children in the families. Just this week, two truckloads of gifts have been picked up, wrapped and shared with our AAPS families across our schools.
In addition to the many stories of staff, student, PTO, and other giving endeavors at our schools (the numerous individual school stories are both impressive and inspiring), the generous support of our AAPS employees has allowed us to meet every request we received from our families this year, beyond what has been provided by the Magic of Christmas, Warm the Children, and other such organized programs.
This week, an additional 100 families will have lovely gifts and warm clothing for their children thanks to the generosity of AAPS employees who ‘adopted’ families in our district. Also, several of our homeless and other families in need will be provided grocery cards to help support them over this Winter Break.
Our hearts are warm as we have gathered the wrapped gifts and distributed this additional support to our families in the schools! I am so proud of these generous outreach efforts, and of the generosity shown by our students, staff, parents, and the AAPS community. These giving efforts speak volumes – not just about what we do, but they tell the story of who we are in Ann Arbor.
As we continue to celebrate the spirit of giving over this upcoming Winter Break, I wish each of you the gifts of Warmth and Peace, Family and Friends. Thank you for the opportunity to serve, and thank you for your support of our children and the Ann Arbor Public Schools.
Enjoy a safe winter break,
Jeanice Swift
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