At 7am on Saturday, December 7, a helicopter carrying Santa, an elf and Mayor Hancock landed at the Northfield Target. Volunteers from Denver Active 20-30 raised funds to provide 160 children with a $50 shopping spree to buy gifts for their families. The children waited outside in the freezing weather to see Santa arrive and Denver Active 20-30 volunteers then helped each child budget and find gifts while the store was open only for this purpose. Each child also received a gift from Santa. Councilman Chris Herndon arranged for the event to happen in Denver instead of at the Glendale Target, as it has in years past.

Wrapping Gifts For a Cause

On Dec. 8, more than 100 volunteers gathered to wrap gifts and prepare them for delivery to dozens of families living in poverty throughout the Denver metro area. WeeCycle, an organization that collects new and gently used baby gear and donates it to families in need, partnered with Brunch With A Purpose for this event. Jayme Ritchie, Stapleton resident and founder and executive director of Weecycle, says two nonprofits working together to help one another and the community at large is not as common of an occurrence as it should be. She called the event a “natural partnership opportunity” for Weecycle and Brunch With A Purpose. For more information on these organizations, visit www.WeeCycle.org and www.BrunchWithAPurpose.org.

Bill Roberts School-Wide Outreach Day

By Madeline Schroeder

Sixth grade helpers hand canned food to students moving along an assembly line for packaging bags to give to the homeless.

Katy Perry plays over the speakers, and kids wear reindeer and Santa hats. The gym looks like Santa’s workshop as more than 100 Bill Roberts students make gifts and zip down a giftwrapping assembly line.

“Are you guys having fun?” comes over the speakers.

The crowd answers a jubilant “Yes!”

On December 12, Bill Roberts School held a schoolwide winter outreach day. Every class donated at least 100 items to Aurora Warms the Night, a nonprofit that feeds and shelters the homeless and connects them to needed services. The students and their parents donated food, clothing, toys and books. During the outreach day, every classroom helped organize, package and wrap the items for Aurora Warms the Night, which also gives motel vouchers to the homeless when the temperature falls below 20 degrees.

Toys and books were also donated to William Roberts’ sister school, John H. Amesse Elementary. And toys went to Children’s Hospital Colorado for kids after surgery.

More than 800 books and games, 400 cold-weather items and 1,000 meals were counted. Last year, they helped more than 1,000 families, and they believe they assisted more this year.