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Schools

Hillcrest's Helping Hands Deliver Holiday Baskets

Hillcrest Elementary's PBIS Helping Hands Committee successfully delivered over 40 Thanksgiving baskets packed with turkeys, hams, canned goods and more to Hillcrest families.

Editor's Note: The following release was submitted by the Peekskill school district. If you would like to post your news to Patch, click here.

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For the second year in a row the students, staff and administration at Hillcrest Elementary School have come together to support the school’s Helping Hands Thanksgiving basket giveaway. 

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The group, who affectionately refer to themselves as “the Turkey Team,” successfully delivered over 40 turkeys, three hams, hundreds of canned goods and much more to selected Hillcrest families this year.

The giveaway was organized by Hillcrest’s Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports, or PBIS, Helping Hands Committee, which is chaired by Alisha Williams-McCorvey, the school’s Social Worker.

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“In a me-first society, this shows our children how to give,” McCorvey said. “And it also shows how willing they are to give.”

The baskets, which contained everything needed for a Thanksgiving dinner, were stocked with donations from parents, local supermarkets, and Hillcrest’s own staff and administration.

Under the guidance of teachers Candis LaFountain and Chris Salumn, Hillcrest’s newly born Student Council also contributed to the cause by organizing a canned food drive earlier in the month which helped to fill the baskets.

“This really shows how much the students care about the needs of their peers,” said Hillcrest’s Speech Pathologist Yvette Bivians, who helped solicit donations from local business and deliver baskets along with Mattie Settembre, a Special Education Teacher at the school.

Library Media Aide Jerri Reeves along with Social Work Interns Kate Ferdinandsen and Melody Peffers helped sort out the donations.

“This project embodies the Hillcrest spirit of giving,” said Michelle Zernone, Hillcrest’s Principal. “We’re walking the walk of a caring community.”

“It’s also a testament about our young people,” Zernone added. “In an age where you hear about how much young people do wrong, this shows how much they do right.”

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