PHOTOS: Grade 4 Students Set Up ‘Santa’s Scottie Village’ Service-Learning Project for Local Families

St. Margaret’s Fountain Courtyard turned into a shopping extravaganza with books, toys, clothes, pajamas and holiday cheer, the culmination of a service-learning project benefiting Orange County families. 

 

Santa’s Scottie Village is a cherished community outreach led by St. Margaret’s Lower School with collaboration from St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and Padres Unidos. The project supports local families who participate in a weekly preschool and parent education program at the Church through Padres Unidos, a non-profit group of community workers who serve low-income families in Orange Country through a variety of child, youth and family services.

 

The Lower School community, led by grade 4 students, came together to support the project with a donation drive that brought in many gifts like pajamas, dolls, books, toys and clothing. Grade 4 students surveyed the needs, crafted a Sign-up Genius, informed students on the Lower School Monday video, collected donations, organized them, and then set up a shopping experience complete with decorated shopping bags, a wrapping station and personalized Christmas cards for each family. 

 

The project aligns with grade 4’s United Nations Sustainable Development goal of sustainable cities and communities, as students learned the importance of supporting families in the building of a strong community.

 

“This is a cherished holiday tradition in the Lower School, and a chance for the Lower School to support our neighbors and build community bonds,” Lower School Director of Community Life Tupper Spring said. “Santa’s Scottie Village is now in its seventh year, and it has become a tradition the entire Lower School supports and anticipates.”