54 years of giving

What does the term ‘holiday season’ mean to you? To many it means spending time with family; eating a large dinner with inlaws and extended family, watching seasonal movies, sitting around a warm fireplace telling stories, or just sitting and watching the snow accumulate on the ground. To many it is also a time of community and giving, where we look out for and care for each other.
And it’s these traditions that make the time so special.
One tradition that exemplifies the spirit of the season is Roosevelt High School’s Operation Holiday Basket. Operation Holiday Basket or OHB is a schoolwide fundraiser and food drive. The mission is to collect food and monetary donations to give back to families of students and those who live in the community who may need help over the long winter break.
“It is something that I look forward to every winter!" said Iris Hewitt, a senior who helps run tables and organize the festivities throughout the week. "It is one of the best community building experiences I’ve ever gotten to be a part of and it makes me so happy seeing all of the students work together every year to pack the baskets and distribute them throughout our neighborhoods. The few weeks leading up to OHB are also a blast since the whole school is in the holiday spirit, decorating their doors and collecting cans and money to donate.
“Roosevelt really feels united during that time and I love it. Holiday Basket is a staple Roosevelt tradition that relies on participation to continue, so we need people to keep spreading the word and donating food items."
Created 54 years ago, in 1970, by Roosevelt teachers Freeman McInroy and Gary Lewis, Operation Holiday Basket or Christmas Basket, as it was called back then, was started when staff members noticed that some students and their families didn’t have enough to eat over the break.
“They saw a need that there were some students who didn’t have food and needed some help,” said Christol Schultz, one of Roosevelt’s coordinators and PR officials who runs Operation Holiday Basket like a well-oiled machine. “They needed a hug, basically over winter break, and there were a couple of teachers who decided that’s what they were going to give them.”
So, the two got to work. In that first year, McInroy and Lewis managed to help 57 families. They did this by creating a competition to increase the amount of food and cans they would get, harnessing the competitive nature of the kids to help out others. Those who couldn’t afford to bring in items or give money could participate in the classroom door decorating contest. “It was another way to get kids involved if they couldn’t afford to bring in items; they could be creative and do that instead,” stated Schultz.
But students don’t just raise the food and money, or decorate doors; they also deliver the baskets to the families.
The competition starts the week before winter break and only contributes a percentage of the items that go into the baskets; other donations from Roosevelt alumni and friends of the school are welcome. Donations can be made at Oxendales Market and St. Manes Sporting Goods starting the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Online donations, on the school’s website, begin the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Much of Operation Holiday Basket has changed over the years. The name was changed to be more inclusive and non-denominational. OHB’s goal has shifted slightly as well, going from just providing a meal over break, to stocking the pantry of families over the break. This shift has changed what goes into the baskets themselves.
“Back when they started, it was whatever people brought in and they made the baskets work. I’m now more intentional about what goes into the baskets,” Schultz commented. “Every basket gets between 15 and 20 items to make a holiday meal and we’re intentional about that. So they usually get around six cans of vegetables, a couple cans of fruit, some kind of a dessert mix, some pasta, some rice, a bag of potatoes, a bag of fresh carrots, and a turkey.” RHS also provides instructions on how to cook the turkey.
Even with this shift in goal, OHB has and is still able to help many people with about 250-400 families benefiting from it per year. In total, since its initial 57 families, an estimated 15,000 baskets have been given out in the 54 years OHB has been around.
Sharing traditions is part of the joy. Bringing new life to old ways. Every year Operation Holiday Basket introduces a new class of students to Roosevelt’s tradition of helping its fellow students and community. It is a tradition that is still as relevant and needed as much as it was in 1970. And as traditions go, it’s a good one.
Waylon Roediger is a student journalist at Roosevelt High School.