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Bears brighten up Christmas
Sisters Destini Edge, 8, and Mylajha, 5, show off their teddy bears given at Keystone Oaks’s “Teddy Bear Christmas.”
Shane Baranowski, 12, Alyssa Caffardo, 4, Deakyn Jankowski, 4, and Amara Caffardo, 13, with their teddy bears.
Denise Adams, 8, with her stuffed animal and gift she received at the “Teddy Bear Christmas.”
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At least 120 children in the South Hills are getting Christmas presents this year thanks to students and staff in the Keystone Oaks School District.
All five schools in the Keystone Oaks district participated in this year’s “Teddy Bear Christmas,” where staff and students buy a teddy bear and another gift for children who are being supported by the Salvation Army. The children received their gifts Dec. 20, when they were also treated to a pizza party complete with Christmas cookies.
Keystone Oaks High School Principal Scott Hagy said the district has been collecting toys for children for nearly 20 years. For the past couple of years, the district has partnered with the Salvation Army for Teddy Bear Christmas, since its Pittsburgh Temple Worship and Service Center is on McNeilly Road near the Keystone Oaks Middle and High Schools. Hagy is also an advisory board member with the Salvation Army.
“It’s so close,” to the school, Hagy said about the Salvation Army. He added that high school students from various organizations and clubs volunteered to help pass out presents at the party.
The children attending the pizza party were allowed to have their teddy bear that day, but had to wait until Christmas to open their other present.
Jim Cromie, spokesperson for the district, said that every child who registered for a gift received one. All of the children receiving gifts that day were from the South Hills.
“We do it every year,” said Jess Long, a senior at Keystone Oaks and president of the high school’s tech club. “We like to help the community in any way we can.” Several members of the tech club volunteered to help pass out gifts and just hang out with the kids.
“It’s a really nice program,” said Mahima Hayana, a junior at Keystone Oaks who also volunteered at the Teddy Bear Christmas.
Jenn Wong, a senior at Keystone Oaks who volunteered to help pass out gifts, said she and her mom shopped for a 5-year-old girl, purchasing a Tinker Bell doll, a coin purse and art supplies for her. “And of course, a teddy bear,” Wong said.