Bringing holiday cheer to area families

Ever been to the North Pole? You should have come to Ireland Hall, recently. The lobby was a well-stocked Santa`s workshop. Packages were piled high as Hawken students, faculty and staff assembled their gifts for over 40 Cleveland-area families. The contributions came as part of Hawken`s holiday partnership with the Salvation Army. Student advisory-modules (ad-mods), staff and faculty departments adopted a family for the season and bought gifts for each family member ranging from toys to badly needed life essentials. Nadja Deighan, director of community service for Hawken, said this year`s participation was the largest ever in the ten years she`s organized the event. The season`s outreach, however, is just one attempt for her to spur Hawken students to philanthropy. \"I think every human being should contribute somehow to other human beings and the world they live in,\" she said. \"If we stop doing that, it`s going to be a pretty sorry world.\" Deighan said that while giving to families during the holidays is a noble gesture, these families often ring in the New Year wondering how they`re going to make it through the next year. Giving, then, should never be confined to only one time of the year. Even still, the holiday gifts could be all the encouragement a mom or dad, aunt or uncle, grandmother or grandfather needs to see the rough times through. \"In some cases, it`s just the fact that somebody has thought about you that helps you hang on until you can get out in the world and better yourself,\" Deighan said. \"Our kids need to understand that.\"