Angel Tree Project, Operation Christmas Child, Food for the Needy
On Keuka’s Radar this Holiday Season

By gretchen parsells

For many members of the Keuka College community, performing community service comes naturally.

So, when the opportunity arises to help those in need, these folks respond in a big way, especially at holiday time.

This year, the Keuka community spent much of November collecting clothes, toys and food for area children and their families, as well as children around the world.

A community service staple and College favorite is the Angel Tree Project. Conducted annually, students, staff and faculty select a paper angel from a Christmas tree. The angel contains a child’s age, whether they are male or female, and if they need clothes, a new toy, or both. Those who chose an angel purchase a Christmas gift for that child. Ages of the angels range from four months to 15 years.

According to Penny Sutterby, community service coordinator, there are three different angels for each child this year.

“One of the angels requests you purchase a toy or non-clothing item for the child, one instructs you to buy clothing for the child, and another that asks you to buy both clothing and a toy for the child,” said Sutterby. “We also had paper ornaments for tape, gift bags, tissue paper, bows and wrapping paper.”

After making a purchase, angels are returned to the Center for Experiential Learning where the gifts are wrapped. The gifts are delivered to children and their parents at the Child and Family Resource Center in Penn Yan.

“This program has definitely grown over the years, and last year, the College served about 50 children,” said Sutterby. “We have 62 children this year, and with three angels each, we’ve gotten quite a bit of stuff.”

Sutterby says each child will get something “and if were not for the generosity of Keuka students, staff and faculty, these children might not get anything for Christmas.”

But Sutterby is not alone in her Angel Tree Project efforts. As part of their work-study positions in the Center for Experiential Learning, sophomore Community Service Advocates Amanda Guzick, a unified childhood/special education major from Pottsville, Pa., and Laura Williams, a management major from Odessa, helped with the collection, wrapping and distribution of the gifts.

Another College holiday giving tradition is Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse, a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to people around the world.

According to junior American Sign Language major Katrina Lehberger, who coordinated the project, students, staff, and faculty filled shoeboxes full of “any item that would fit into the boxes.”

Some of the items in the shoeboxes include toys, hygiene products and school supplies.

 “Once the boxes are filled, they will be shipped around the world and given to children who may have never gotten a gift before,” said Lehberger, a native of Ashland, Mass.

Lehbeger, who has participated in the program for three years, helped fill, sort and wrap boxes.

“Katrina is a dedicated and competent worker who has a passion to help others,” said College Chaplain Jeff Falter, who asked Lehberger to coordinate Operation Christmas Child.

Of the more than 100 countries Operation Christmas Child boxes could be sent, several include countries where Keuka students have conducted Field Periods, including Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, India, and Poland.

An additional community service project sponsored by the Community Service Resource Center was collecting canned goods and other non-perishable foods to donate to Food for the Needy, located in the First Baptist Church of Penn Yan. A bi-annual event for the College, collecting for Food for the Needy was the “Drive of the Month” for November.

According to Sutterby, people who don’t have the resources to get food, especially at the holidays, can go to Food for the Needy. It also provides supplementary and emergency food for those in need.

“Food for the Needy will accept donations at any time, as they are currently running a 3-4 day supply of food,” said Sutterby.

Curtain Call for Arion

Keuka College’s Arion Players were recently honored at the Theatre Association of New York State (TANYS) Awards held last month. The Players staged Fat Pig, a romantic comedy by Neil LaBute, which featured the talents of three freshmen and a senior. The Players earned a Meritorious Award in Costuming, awarded to Becky Falter (wife of Rev. Jeff Falter, College chaplain), and a Meritorious Award to Liz Rice, Eddie Hoffman, Lee Squire, Sara Munio, members of the cast, and director Mark Wenderlich “for their trust in one another in this production, and their conviction in pursuing cutting edge theatre.”

From left: Liz Rice, Sara Munio, Mark Wenderlich, President Burke, Lee Squire, Becky Falter, and Eddie Hoffman.