Last week, Rogers Public Schools students gathered to give to a group often overlooked during the holiday season — single parents. Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis spoke with some people involved and brings us this report.
It’s the holiday season, and this time of year the sounds of labor often conjure images of elves hurriedly working away at the North Pole. Even though last Tuesday didn’t include flying reindeer or a jolly fellow in a red suit, there was plenty of magic at Rogers Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Perry’s woodshop in Garfield.
“So today we are building gifts for single moms and homeless kids."
"We wanted to give the kids an opportunity to be able to wrap some presents and give them to their mothers on Christmas morning.”
That’s America Albarran and Aspyn Marsh. They’re both seniors at Rogers Heritage High School and members of the dance team. They, along with the rest of the team and the district’s student advisory committee, spent part of their Thanksgiving break making gifts such as cutting boards and wooden Christmas trees.
They’ll dole out these presents during a parents-night-out for single mothers and fathers later this month. School staff will take care of the kids for an evening, allowing parents some well-deserved rest time.
However, they’ll receive more than just some downtime. Their kids will put the finishing touches on the gifts created last week and give them to their parents on Christmas morning.
Superintendent Jeff Perry says this initiative and supporting single parents carry personal significance.
“My mom raised four kids by herself, and I specifically remember one Christmas when I was in middle school. Dad had left us a long time ago, and mom was working four different jobs during the week just to make things work.
"And so I noticed one night after Christmas Eve, because she actually had to go to work that Christmas Eve because she made more money working those kind of shifts. And so after we opened all our presents up, then I realized mom didn’t have anything. And then I also realized just how tired she looked. And so for me, single moms especially, have always been kind of kind and dear to my heart — that I know how hard they work, how much effort they put forth, and then how much sacrifices they make.
"And the one thing I think that’s very true is nobody checks on the warriors, nobody checks on those people that are supposed to be strong. They simply expect those individuals to get up every day and work and to be strong and to just continue on. And so for us, we wanted to take a little bit of time and honor those parents and honor those individuals who are out there trying to make a difference, trying to take care of their children, and just making sure for just a small minute that they are able to be taken care of themselves, and that we provide a little bit of relief and some comfort and some joy to those individuals.”
This isn’t the only way Rogers faculty, staff and students are helping folks in need. Perry says this effort is part of the Community First project.
“What we’re talking about is the school district attempting to reach out more to the community. Because I think we do a great job with our school family and with our students, but we also want to do some things that would end up touching more of the community folks that are not school families. And so each month, we’re doing a little something to reach out and to add value to the community. And for this month, of course, with the holiday season coming around, it was a real simple decision that we’re going to do something around the Christmas holiday.
"So as we begin to talk, one of the things that we realized is that a ton of our kids who are needy families, they get a lot of support during the holidays. We’ve got various organizations reaching out to help them. But one of the groups that don’t get so much attention is — our single parents. And so a lot of times they’re single. Moms are out there working one, two jobs. It’s very difficult for them. They make a number of sacrifices to make sure that their children have a good Christmas, but nobody ever really focuses on them.”
Furthermore, the custom woodworking and parents' night out aren’t the only December occurrences for Community First. The district will also try to enable families to enjoy the season together.
“We’re going to try to sponsor a date night for the kids and their parents. So if you want to go to the Amazeum, if you want to go to the movies, if you want to go out to the restaurant, if you want to go out to Chuck E. Cheese or wherever it would be, then we’re going to try to raise the funds. And so for the parents that we’re dealing with, we’ll give them an opportunity to just go out and spend an evening with their kids, because a lot of times they don’t have the opportunity, nor do they have the finances. And so we’re going to try to make sure that that happens.”
Perry says they’re calling upon the community to help make that happen.
“If you are an organization or a business out there — if you own the movie theater, or you own a restaurant that kids and parents might like to go to — if you want to reach out to us, then we’ll end up working with them to either give the parents a discount on that night or a free meal on that night, or the movies or whatever. Because we’re doing a lot on our end to make it happen. For example, another thing that we’re going to do is that we’ll end up taking these kids to a basketball game so they get in free. We’ll take them to the concession stand, let them get popcorn, let them get something to drink — those kind of things. But going back to the community, anything that anybody wants to do to help us — if they want to provide either a gift certificate to go out to eat or go to the movies — then we’ll collect those, and then we’ll make sure those get in the hands of our parents.”
As the dance team worked on their creations, their coach, Symphony Lockard, looked on in admiration. She says it feels good to give back to the people who have supported her and her team throughout the seasons.
“For dance specifically, it costs a lot to be in the world of dance and to go to the competitions and all of the things that are involved in it. And so we ask a lot of the community, and it’s only appropriate that we give as much, if not more, back. And so we don’t always have money to give, but we do have time. And so it’s important for these girls to be involved in giving back — to be, I mean, even seen like, ‘Hey, we’re not just asking for help, but we want to give it, too,’ and there’s people everywhere that have offered help that they might not have had the money, but they did have the time. And just like I said, we might not have the money, but we absolutely have the time.”
And Superintendent Perry says anytime in the woodshop is time well spent.
“I love this because actually all the wood that we have here today came off of this property, so I sawed it down myself. I’ve got a sawmill, so my wife and I cut it up on the sawmill. I built a solar kiln that uses the sun’s heat to go ahead and dry out wood. And then we bring it in here and let it rest just a little bit. And then I’ve got a planer and those kind of things. So we take a tree that was growing and everything that was needed for this process we’ve done here. And so for me it’s a very relaxing kind of process. And it’s something that’s pretty fulfilling.
"And so as we’ve — we’ve said multiple times — it’s easy to go buy something for somebody. You can do that and you’re done in five minutes. But when you make something, and each one of these kids are going to put their name on the back of it to show that they’re proud in that, and to show that they had enough commitment and dedication, and they gave up part of their vacation to come out here and make something. And so for us, it’s a piece that when you make something, then you really show somebody that you care, that you’re dedicated and that you’re willing to go forth that little bit extra effort.”
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