Dec. 20, 2013 became a day to remember at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS). It’s the day when students and faculty at OHCHS raised $1000 in just a few hours for Christmas for Teens. Leanna Wielki and Elizabeth Gillespie, both juniors at OHCHS and members of the Varsity Cheering Team, first came up with the idea to create a hat day for students and staff at OHCHS. The only catch was each person would be asked to donate a dollar or more to wear a Santa hat or any other of their choice
“It was the day before Christmas vacation, and I thought it'd be fun to spread some Christmas cheer and wear Santa hats,” said Wielki.
Later on she and her friend Gillespie decided to take their idea to the school principal, Ted Moccia.
“We chose Christmas for Teens because everyone deserves help during the holidays. The holidays are not only about receiving, but also [about] giving,” explained Gillespie and Wielki.
“Mr. Moccia is an easy person to talk to and he takes our ideas into account,” Gillespie explained.
After a few hours, OHCHS students and faculty had earned a total of $1000.
“It was a great feeling seeing how many people donated just to donate, and to wear hats, because it was great to see the community and school come together like that to help each other out,” said Wielki.
Christmas for Teens is a non-profit organization which helps teens and their families in the Oxford Hills area during the holiday season. It is run by five people: Jean Delamater, Pam Colby, Carlene Treadwell, Kathy Bean, and Rhonda Maher. The check fo $1000 was presented to the organization soon after the money was collected. When Delameter came to pick up the donation, she was overcome with emotion.
“It’s a huge contribution to the charity and we appreciate it. We’re especially happy because it’s teens helping teens, and it says a lot about the community,” explained Delameter.
Christmas for Teens accepts donations from anyone. They are a non-profit organization. They have drop off bins in multiple locations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Hannaford, New balance and Ken and Thoms Flooring, along with a post office box #726 in Norway. Everything asked for by the over 200 families and teens they help tend to be items they need, rather than want. Christmas for Teens only accepts new items because they feel this is the one time a year their teens should get new items.
Delameter and the rest of the group members plan on keeping this charity going for as long as possible.
“We don’t say no,” said Delameter, ““and we will never turn anyone down.”
