SHOPPERS TARGET THE NEEDY.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer VALENCIA - When they entered the Target department store one day after school, they were typical teen-agers wanting to buy everything they saw. ``Oh, this is darling,'' said Michelle Mark, 17, as she looked at a little black coat with buttons down the front. ``That's so cute. It's so precious,'' added Jessica Tepper. In the end, the group of about a dozen Valencia High School Valencia High School may refer to:
And their greatest joy was in knowing they would keep none of it - the group headed home to wrap the gifts for a Newhall family the had ``adopted'' for the holidays. ``It feels good to help out another family,'' Tepper said. ``It makes our hearts feel so much better.'' The students from two peer counseling classes at the school had been fund raising for two families and gone from classroom to classroom seeking donations, raffling off a snowboard snow·board n. A board resembling a small surfboard and equipped with bindings, used for descending snow-covered slopes on one's feet but without ski poles. intr.v. donated by Val-Surf and even going door-to-door in their neighborhoods and to local businesses asking for help. Teacher Voula Devoe said she wanted to include a community service project as part of her class, and the students voted to participate in Adopt-a-Family programs sponsored by the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. Community and Senior Citizen Service Center and the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry. ``I think a big part of self-awareness is sharing and giving,'' Devoe said. ``It's been so overwhelming. I'm so proud of them.'' In the end, each of the classes raised more than a $1,300 each, and students opened their hearts to make sure that the families got every penny. ``It really feels good,'' said Leanne Williams, who brought the idea to the class after she and her family had adopted a family the year before. ``It brings back more of the Christmas memories.'' The two classes shopped for the two five-member families and purchased everything from toys, clothes, jackets, shoes, tree ornaments Ornaments are a frequent embellishment to music. Sometimes different symbols represent the same ornament, or vice versa. Different ornament names can refer to an ornament from a specific area or time period. and lights to household and cleaning supplies and toiletries toi·let·ry n. pl. toi·let·ries An article, such as toothpaste or a hairbrush, used in personal grooming or dressing. toiletries npl → artículos mpl de aseo (= . They even included a watch for the father, a purse for the mother and close to $400 in gift certificates to various grocery stores. After visiting other stores, they had received donations of a CD player, cassette player, tea set, remote control car, a toy dog toy dog, classification used by breeders and kennel clubs to designate very small breeds of dogs kept as pets. Some are selectively bred diminutive forms of larger breeds and others are naturally small. , three free haircuts, manicure and shampoo shampoo a cleaning agent, usually liquid, for hair; usually consists of a detergent and perfume. Some, usually referred to as medicated shampoos, contain therapeutic substances such as parasiticides, antimicrobials, ketatolytic agents, and antiseborrheic compounds such as selenium products, a bead bead Small object, usually pierced for stringing. It may be made of virtually any material—wood, shell, bone, seed, nut, metal, stone, glass, or plastic—and is worn or affixed to another object for decorative or, in some cultures, magical purposes. ornament ornament, in architecture ornament, in architecture, decorative detail enhancing structures. Structural ornament, an integral part of the framework, includes the shaping and placement of the buttress, cornice, molding, ceiling, and roof and the capital and kit and gift certificates to Burger King. ``It feels good inside knowing that this family won't miss out on a wonderful Christmas,'' said Monica Sarmiento, a junior. Shelby Constantine, 16, and Jessica Haro, 17, shopped for gifts for a 10-year-old boy. With brothers at home, the two said they had an idea of what he would like. So far, they had picked out four shirts, a pair of jeans, sweats, socks, high-top tennis shoes tennis shoes npl → zapatillas fpl de tenis tennis shoes npl → (chaussures fpl de) tennis mpl tennis shoes tennis and a jacket. Carrying a calculator, the made sure not to spend more then their $200 limit per person, and they picked games including a bucket of Legos, a hand-held video game, Hot Wheels Hot Wheels is a brand of die cast toy car, introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Johnny Lightning and Matchbox until 1996, when Mattel acquired rights to the Matchbox brand from Tyco. , Lego cars, and the classic games Operation and Trouble. ``It's great,'' Haro said. ``It's something really nice. It's something we can do to help out. The holidays are hard for needy families.'' Monica Castro, 18, has spoken to the family her class has adopted. ``She said she needs everything from the bare minimum,'' Castro said, who spoke in Spanish with the mother. ``She was so thrilled we took her family under our wings. She's so relieved and so ecstatic ec·stat·ic adj. 1. Marked by or expressing ecstasy. 2. Being in a state of ecstasy; joyful or enraptured. [French extatique, from Greek ekstatikos, from .'' Though she enjoys being able to help the family, Castro said that hearing their story has made her sad. ``It was more of a heartache,'' Castro said. ``It made me more grateful to know what I had and what they didn't have.'' Nicole Munson agreed with Castro. ``Adopt-a-Family really makes you think about how lucky we really are,'' Munson said. ``It makes you feel grateful for what you have.'' On two different days this past week, the two classes hand-delivered their items to their families and spent about 20 minutes with them talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to them and explaining the gift certificates. ``When we got there, there were only a few things on the tree and nothing underneath,'' Tepper said. ``We brought in for them everything we had.'' Before they left, they watched the family open one gift each and sang ``Feliz Navidad'' with them. ``The family was really happy,'' Tepper said. ``We just made it a little better even though we couldn't do everything for them.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Heather Denny, from left, Nichole Deardorff, Michelle Mark and Jessica Tepper select items for their `adopted' family. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News (2) Nicole Deardorff and Jessica Tepper cruise an aisle of a Target store in search of a doll. (3) Teacher Voula Devoe, far left, and students, from left, Jessica Monaco, Shelby Constantine and Jessica Haro buy the gifts. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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