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CLOUDY Temp: 40 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Saturday, December 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend November 21, 2002 Grace Christian School pre-kindergartner Kylea Wagner, right, and other students hold gifts bound for children in need. The school collected 863 boxes from students as part of the Operation Christmas Child program. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Santa’s 685 elves Grace Christian students start holiday season by thinking of the less fortunate By JILL BRISKEY Mail Tribune Rogue Valley retailers aren’t the only ones to get a jump start on the 2002 Christmas season. Early Wednesday, 685 students from Grace Christian School kicked off the winter holiday in style by bringing in gifts of toys, school supplies and toiletries for less-fortunate children. "I have my favorite toy spider in here," said first-grader Andrew Ronda, hefting a box decked out in bright holiday wrapping paper. "It has very soft legs." "We just wanted to do something for people who have less than we do," said sixth-grader Teddy Sayre, whose box contained school supplies as well as "stuff" another boy his age would like. "This may be the only gifts these kids will get for Christmas," added sixth-grader Matt Torrano. The students filled more than 863 boxes with gifts of toys and necessities. Their donations are part of Operation Christmas Child, an international relief effort run by Samaritan’s Purse. Samaritan’s Purse is a ministry of Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham. Although the gifts will go to children living in poverty or war-torn areas in foreign countries, the exact location of their distribution remains a mystery, said Grace Christian School administrator Devon Rickabaugh. "Each year we do something that reaches out beyond ourselves," said Rickabaugh. "This (response from students) is a little more than we had anticipated." Students learned about the program two weeks ago and were asked to fill a single gift box each. But school administrators ended up with 200 additional gift boxes Wednesday morning. "The kids have been just so excited about this," said first-grade teacher Marcy McClintick. "They think it’s fun to go shopping and get things for others." The students held an outdoor assembly and each child dropped off at least one box. The boxes were packed up and shipped off by truck. "We want the kids to know we care about them," said sixth-grader Michael Ross. "I’ve done this before, and I just like to help," said fifth-grader Sarah Barden. "I just hope they like the animal horse (in the gift box)." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S