High school students give holidays hope

AURORA – As part of Rosary High School’s Holiday Hopes project, students, staff and parent volunteers dressed in holiday-themed attire, wrapped presents, packed food baskets and delivered gifts to the festively-decorated and gift-filled school foyer on Dec. 13 for pickup by area families.

Holiday Hopes is the school’s annual Christmastime adopt-a-family service project. A family in need is adopted by each homeroom every year. Each family receives wrapped gifts, treats and a food basket complete with ingredients for holiday meals, as well as a gift certificate to a local grocery store.

Students and families made donations to the project in October. Collected donations were put into an Adopt-a-Family fund and divided equally for each adopted family and each homeroom.

This year, 25 families with children who attend St. Peter’s School in Aurora were “adopted” through a partnership with St. Peter’s.

Rosary raised $12,000 to provide gifts for the project’s families.