Logan Elementary benefits 100 students with gift drive, aims to continue support

The annual gift drive at Logan Elementary School in North Versailles helped bring a happy holiday to about 100 of the school’s students.

The students received a backpack holding a wrapped gift, a hoodie and an essential item, such as clothing or hygiene products. The backpacks were left on students’ desks before holiday break.

“One teacher said the smiles and how excited one of their students was made his day,” said fourth grade teacher Lindsay Dempsey, who helps organize the gift drive. “That’s what we were going for — just to help and support the students.”

Teachers at the school identified students whose families were in need of holiday support. They worked with the families to identify the students’ interests and any other items they were in need of.

A United Steelworkers of America chapter based in Jeannette donated $2,500 to help the school purchase items for the gift drive.

The gift drive was also supported with about 75 items from Penn Township’s annual Stuff-A-Truck event.

The Penn Township Police Department set up a drop-off location by S&T Bank on Route 130 at the end of November to collect toy donations. The toys were delivered to Penn-Trafford High School, where students in the Community Action Program helped distribute them to local families.

About 70 Penn-Trafford students were supported by the Stuff-A-Truck, which brought in about 1,000 items, said Lauren Traill, who helped with the distribution. The remaining toys went to local churches and Toys for Tots.

“We are very, very fortunate,” said Traill, a counselor at Harrison Park and Sunrise Elementary schools. “It seems like every year, we get bigger and bigger.”

This was the second holiday season Penn-Trafford supported Logan Elementary’s gift drive, Traill said. The two schools got connected through a Penn Township church Dempsey’s mother attends.

“It’s an awesome gift — to see everybody’s generosity and everybody coming together with their willingness to help other people,” Traill said.

Continuing student support

But the holiday season did not mark the end of giving at Logan Elementary.

The school is working to launch its Wildcat Pantry, which will stock nonperishable food items for students in need. Letters are being sent to the community to ask for donations, Dempsey said.

The pantry was preceded by the Wildcat Closet, which launched last spring to connect students with clothing and hygiene products.

The school is working to ensure it can meet students’ needs as quickly as possible, whether they need a change of clothes during the school day or cannot afford a new pair of shoes.

The Jeannette steelworkers union donated $2,500 to support the closet at the beginning of the academic year, along with some food items and backpacks.

“They really want to help children that don’t have the resources, that are lacking everyday necessities,” Dempsey said.

Many of the donations to the closet have come from the school’s staff, Dempsey said.

“Our staff has big hearts,” she said. “Everybody wanted to help and contribute.”