Eating a huge dinner at the table with family members. Sitting by the Christmas tree opening up beautifully wrapped gifts. Although these are common holiday traditions that many enjoy, not all families are fortunate enough to have these luxuries.

Adopt A Family provides a program so that less fortunate Grosse Pointe families can celebrate the traditions of Christmas together.

“In Adopt A Family, we collect food, money and presents for families who can’t have an expensive holiday, so we make it bright and less stressful for them,” Student Association (SA) representative Skylar McCrindle ‘19 said.

Not only does the program provide for families who are unable to afford a Christmas celebration, but all of the families being helped are residents of the Grosse Pointe Community.

When students of Grosse Pointe South donate to the cause, they are providing for people in their own community and giving back during the holidays.

“We take students from schools recommended by counselors for the program, rank them and decide their needs. If they qualify for the program, we take them and help,” chair member Maren Roeske ‘18 said.

Students of the Grosse Pointe Public School System are recommended by counselors at their schools, and then some of their families are chosen to be helped by Adopt A Family during the holidays.

Each third hour class has the opportunity to take part in Adopt A Family. If the class chooses to participate, then the SA representative and the teacher of the class collect the money from students.

Then the SA representatives go shopping to buy all the necessary items for each family such as food, fruit baskets, pies and gifts. The more classes who partake in the program, the more families who are helped.

“We have a lot more families this year, so we are really hoping that South will band together to provide a great Christmas for people who may not be as fortunate as some,” chair member Grace Brandon ‘18 said.

Roeske and Brandon are the two chair members, so they organize the entire event. They do all the family pairing and they organize the classes. They also make sure they have an SA representative in each of the classes and coordinate delivery day.

Students who take part in helping the families can decide how much money they want to bring in.

Therefore, it is just a simple action and a small price to pay to give back to the community and be a part of creating a special time for people who don’t have the same opportunities as others.

The goal of Adopt A Family is mainly to have classes raise a solid amount of money in order to give families a nice, stress-free holiday.

“It’s something that many Grosse Pointe families take for granted, that there are people who need our help, and we get to do that. It’s also about providing an opportunity for the students to give back at this time of year, which is usually about getting and not giving,” Roeske said. “It is a great way for the school to come together and get involved in a program in our own community.”