As the holiday season approaches, Oxford embraces the spirit of giving through two major service projects hosted by ASB: Bags of Hope and the Canned Food Drive. From collecting non-perishable foods to bags of clothes and toys, students and on-campus organizations are encouraged to participate in the initiatives to share their blessings with families facing hardships over the holidays.
Bags of Hope aims to provide gifts to children whose families are homeless or in transition during the holiday season. Every Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) school participates in Bags of Hope, which has supported more than 4,000 low-income families in Orange County. Oxford donates 40 to 50 bags yearly, according to Oxford’s ASB Activities Director Mrs. Fong.
Each participating group or individual is assigned a child of a family facing difficulties and are informed of their name, age, and sex to fill a bag of holiday gifts for them. After the bags are filled by participants and sent to the distribution center, volunteers inspect and arrange them, before distribution day where they are directly handed to the designated child.
Oxford economics teacher Mr. Rylaarsdam is a long-time supporter of Bags of Hope. Throughout the years, he has encouraged both his FBLA and cluster students to partake in the initiative. This year, he is participating with his group of camping friends.
“Since our kids are all grown, we have more free time and I asked them and they were all excited about it,” Mr. Rylaarsdam said. “I like this cause, and my friends were excited to help out.”
Another service project, the Canned Food Drive was held from Nov. 4 to Nov. 8, orchestrated by ASB Community Service Commissioners sophomore Trisha Hua and senior Claire Jung. The initiative was publicized with a superhero theme and matching slogan: “Capes on, cans in!” encouraging students to donate non-perishable canned foods for those lacking access to food. All cans are donated to the H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everyday) Food Bank, hosted by the Saint Irenaeus Catholic Church in Cypress. Fong says Oxford brings in thousands of cans yearly; this year, the drive brought in a total of 1227 cans and $531.12 in monetary donations.
“[The Canned Food Drive is] not just giving out your old cans or cans you don’t want,” Hua said. “You should buy new cans of food you actually want to eat and not your leftover cans, because you’re feeding your community.”
Each year, the homeroom class that collects the most cans receives a treat party, to incentivize student donors. This year, Mrs. Galván’s eleventh grade homeroom won a pizza party, having collected a total of 274 cans. Jung emphasized the core spirit of the Canned Food Drive, transcending materialistic prizes.
“The more important message is that you’re really just donating because of the good of your heart, and not because of the homeroom party,” Jung said. “I think everyone should donate for the cause and for [their] own compassion — not because there’s a prize at the end of it.”
