Along with selecting gifts for friends and family members, Head O’ Meadow Elementary School students had the opportunity to donate to three charities at the school’s annual PTA-run Holiday Giving Shop recently.

This year’s Holiday Giving Shop was run by Alyson Smith and Melissa Yomazzo. It was set up on the school’s cafetorium stage, and classes took turns visiting the shop over the course of a couple days. Parent volunteers worked to help students choose gifts for loved ones, wrap gifts, and help students choose to which of three charities they could donate money. Before students came to visit, the PTA created bags of different items for students to choose for gifts. Each gift bag was sold for $4, and $1 from each bag went to a charity. Students select a charity to give each $1 to by placing a bead in a bin.

Before students purchased gifts, they had the chance to visit the shop to get ideas. As one kindergarten class looked at all of the gifts available on December 4, one girl pointed to a gift and said it was perfect for her sister. “She’s going to love this,” she added.

“This one is for myself,” a boy said, pointing to a wrapped bag of candies.

As another boy was strolling through he said, “I like this shop.” The class would come back another day to purchase the gifts.

From candies to golf tees and treats for pets, the students could choose from a wide range of gifts at the shop.

After the Holiday Giving Shop is concluded, money from the fundraiser will be donated to the charities. Money from this year’s shop will be divided between the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, FAITH Food Pantry, and the US Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots program. Last year’s Holiday Giving Shop raised $575 for the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, $375 for the US Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots program, and $350 for FAITH Food Pantry.