This has been one hectic year due to the virus COVID-19. Due to the pandemic, many extracurricular activities and events for the school that has been canceled. Not only has COVID affected schools but most importantly our communities. Many people have lost their jobs or have struggled to find work. This has led to many families to suffer due to this unfortunate pandemic. Even through this harsh time in the Grandview community, we are all looking out for each other. We all make sure everyone has the necessities they need to make it through these difficult times.

The Grandview High School Leadership annually hosts the Adopt-A-Family Christmas Drive which partners with the Salvation Army. The main purpose of the Adopt-A-Family Drive is to provide for families in need in the Grandview community. The Leadership class’s goal is to fulfill each family with what they need to have a great holiday and to have daily necessities to start off the new year.

This big of a project could not be done alone, many clubs at GHS participate and help out with Adopt-A-Family. Usually, certain clubs will hold canned food drives and toy drives. Not only do clubs contribute to the drive but also many students donate gifts to the families which helps out a lot! Besides all the clubs and students helping out with the drive, the Leadership class goes out to local businesses to ask for donations for these families. From there, usually, the ASB team then goes shopping for any toiletries and household items that were not covered by donations.

Hey, my name is AuLani Benitez, I attend Grandview High School, we are a pretty small school, 2A to be exact. Freshman year I did not know what I was walking myself into with the project that Leadership hosts annually. I assumed it was this short and easy project but oh was I wrong. There is so much time, tedious work, and effort being put into this by many people. I was genuinely amazed at how everyone comes together to make this possible. This is my third year in the Leadership class and my first year being a part of the ASB team, I was really nervous and anxious about how we were going to pull off the Adopt-A-Family Christmas Drive this year due to COVID. I was afraid we were not going to be able to help as many families as we usually have helped in the past. That was not the case though, this year was the most families we have ever helped, 11 families! There were many adversities and challenges but with all the help we had we were able to make it possible.

The Adopt-A-Family Christmas Drive is extremely important to me, the leadership class, our school, and the community. Being able to contribute to the Adopt-A-Family Drive is something that I look forward to every year. It is truly the highlight of my year knowing that families can celebrate the holidays without having any worries. For that, I am proud to be a Greyhound! Go Hounds!