Students from the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Key Club and Student Council prepare Thanksgiving baskets for local families. Submitted photo
PARIS — For members of the Oxford Comprehensive High School Key Club, Thanksgiving is about more than being full. It’s about making sure less fortunate families have food on the table.
About 20 Key Club and Student Council members assembled baskets of Thanksgiving meals Monday and delivered them Tuesday.
According to Dennis Boyd, choir director for School Administrative District 17 and a member of the Kiwanis International Club, the project takes planning and commitment on the part of the students.
Deb Ladner, secretary at the high school, helped the Key Club identify students in need at Oxford Hills Middle School in Paris and Oxford, Agnes Gray Elementary School in West Paris, and Harrison Elementary, Paris Elementary and Guy E. Rowe Elementary schools, the latter in Norway. Local churches helped fill in the gaps for other district schools in Hebron, Otisfield, Oxford, Paris and Waterford.
According to Sam Morton, a high school senior and president of the Key Club, the club has been doing this event for a few years, but this has been the biggest, climbing from 24 baskets in the first year to 70 this year.
“In Oxford Hills, there are a lot of families that can’t afford a Thanksgiving on their own,” Morton said. “We, as a key club, use the money we have raised and donations from local business to put together thanksgiving meals for families who need them.”
According to Boyd, the club helps the area Kiwanis International Group put on events and charity giveaways throughout the year. But this effort stems solely from the efforts and fundraising of the Key Club and Student Council.
“For my kids, it’s not about seeing the recognition, it’s knowing that they did the right thing,” Boyd said.
And according to Morton, Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without trying to help others enjoy the holiday.
“Being grateful for what you have and wanting to share that with others seems like the point of Thanksgiving to me,” he said.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.