As Christmas approaches, Prep students and faculty prepare to celebrate in many ways: giving gifts to friends, writing cards to relatives, or perhaps giving to the less fortunate. Prep’s annual Giving Tree Week allows panthers to stay connected to the broader Seattle community during the holiday season.

Mr. Liu, Director of Magis Christian Service Program, said, “We partner with various organizations in Seattle to provide donated items or monetary donations that would support their work. We then divide up these items amongst the grade levels and even Collegios with the hopes of collecting a wide variety of items.”

This year’s partner organizations are Urban Rest Stop, Jesuit Restorative Justice Initiative, St. Martin’s on Westlake, and Seattle Clemency Project. Some of the products that will be donated to these organizations include socks, hats and gloves, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and other bathroom and feminine products.

“I remember giving socks, and you could either give adult socks that went to a women’s shelter, or you could give kids socks. They wanted them to be thick and good quality so that the socks would be good for the winter,” said Junior Julia Krische.

Also, the Christmas tree Prep puts up in Adelphia each year is not there just to display its cheery, wintery decorations – it also holds tags from families around Seattle with little Christmas wishes. These tags are to be claimed by members of the Prep community, making it that person’s responsibility to get the gift on the tag. This system allows panthers to make small acts of charity that make the Christmas season just a bit brighter for those who are less fortunate.

When asked why she likes having the Giving Tree at Prep, Julia Krische ’23 said, “I like it because it reminds everybody about the real spirit of Christmas, like giving and generosity. I think we can get caught up in the fun and festive things that we get to do, like Christmas music and parties and all of that, but a lot of people on the margins don’t get that side of the holidays.”

Students will be informed of the different parts of the Giving Tree program during the Giving Tree Assembly, which is scheduled for November 29^th and is organized by the students in Ms. Broadbent’s senior Faith in Action class. Ms. Broadbent said, “Each student has a different primary role, whether that be filming a short video to play during the assembly, writing announcements, or making gift tags for the tree… We’re excited to reveal the theme of this year’s Giving Tree and to promote some really amazing organizations!”

Mr. Liu described the purpose of Giving Tree best: “As a Jesuit school, we are called to be men and women for others. The Giving Tree allows us to think outside of ourselves and our Prep community during the holidays and support those who are on the margins in society.”