LM January 2016

Holiday season of giving, volunteering and cheer

Mannheim 83 Kim Petrasek, superintendent

It has been said that the local school is the heart of a community. Mannheim District 83 has shown its heart with its Project Thanksgiving program that began in 2007. This program provides a full Thanksgiving dinner for families within the district. All staff members are invited to donate to the program in order to support and serve our community. School staff coordinates with a local grocery store to order a full dinner for families that includes a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, dinner rolls, and a pumpkin pie at a cost of $65 per dinner. Our local store even participated this year by donating a dinner. When the collection window has closed, the total number of families that can be serviced is calculated and our school social workers identify families in need who would benefit from the program. A volunteer team is organized to coordinate the deliveries on the Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving. This year Mannheim District 83 staff was able to provide dinners for 55 families that might otherwise not have

been able to enjoy a traditional holiday dinner. The Mannheim District 83 Project Thanksgiving program demonstrates how our district works to model our commitment to supporting our community beyond the walls of our classrooms.

Grayslake 46 Ellen Correll, superintendent

The shot is looking out of the District Office building at the students leaving for winter break last year. The snow was slowly falling in big beautiful flakes, and the buses were lined up for the end of the school day dismissal at Frederick School with whom the District Office shares a parking lot. As the students started filtering out of the building I just happened to snap the photo when the young lady in the pink jacket exuberantly

spread her arms out either trying to catch snowflakes or just in relief at the end of the school day and beginning of the holiday break. Either way, this photo is one of our community's favorite photos.

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