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Adopt-a-Family was held in the Media Center this year, a break from tradition.

Photo Credit: Kaitlyn Philavanh and Karen Manley

On Friday, December 15, Fossil Ridge High School held its annual Adopt-a-Family celebration in the Media Center. Student Council facilitated ordering pizza and sub sandwiches and buying hot chocolate, lemonade, and cookies so each family could stay for dinner. They also decorated the space; lights hung over the bookshelves and drawings of trees and snow were hung around the library. There were craft tables, including a chance for anyone to make a candy cane from pipe cleaner and beads, decorate holiday cookies, or make paper hot chocolate with glitter and marshmallows. Santa and Mrs. Claus were both in attendance as well, and when families were ready to leave, they brought gifts collected by Fossil students and staff home with them.

Adopt-a-Family takes place over two weeks, in which each Advisory class is given a family or two, the names and ages of their children, and their requested gifts. The class divides up the gifts however they choose, and on the night of the event, the class comes together to wrap all the presents and drop them off elsewhere in the school. Emily Lukasik, a junior, explained that her class signs up for whichever child they wanted to bring presents for, and then they wrap the gifts a week early. Then, whoever still wants to contribute brings whatever the class is still lacking as well as something for the adults in the household. Her class also makes a card for the family and everyone signs it, thanking them for letting the class be a part of their holiday season.

Each family adopted by Fossil for the holidays can choose when they want to pick up their gifts, but the majority attend on the night where there is live music courtesy of part of Fossil’s orchestra and plenty of students on hand to carry gifts to their cars. Fossil’s Key Club and National Honor Society both gave the opportunity for their members to volunteer at the event, and so approximately forty students facilitated crafts, carried gifts, and served food. Lukasik is a member of both clubs, and she thinks it’s important that Fossil participate in Adopt-a-Family because it helps the school community, “learn more about giving to others and be thankful for what we have.”

Senior Dennis Arguelles is a member of the Student Council committee that planned Adopt-a-Family this year, and he explained that a lot of communication goes into planning an event of this scale. A committee head delegates jobs to different members of the group, who then reach out to advisories within the school. The event is traditionally held in the gym, but this year, there were some issues with reserving the space. Arguelles found that it’s better to hold the event in the Media Center, where “it’s more cozy and more comfortable for everyone.”

Arguelles’ favorite thing about Adopt-a-Family is quite similar to Lukasik’s. He loves, “the way it changes my view on things, families that are less fortunate than me, it just makes me appreciate a lot more.” The reason that Fossil participates, in his mind, is “to give back to the community and just help out. There’s a lot of families out there that do need help and are struggling, and it’s a good way for us to get involved.”