Momma always said to button up your coat when it was cold and wet outside. A lesson not lost on the youngsters at Los Altos Elementary School.
With the frigid temperatures and rainy weather, the students arrive at the Hacienda Heights school all bundled up this holiday season.
But what if you don’t have a coat? What if you didn’t even have a home? Then what DO you DO?
While the kids can’t find homes for the homeless, they figured they could collect warm clothes for those forced to live on the streets this Christmas.
“I volunteer at the Fred Jordan Mission in Los Angeles on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I noticed that the homeless needed warm clothes, coats and blankets more than ever,” explained fifth-grade teacher Carri Peck.
So Peck and the student council decided to help the homeless.
“The kids were especially interested in collecting clothes for children in the growing number of homeless families,” Peck said.
Usually the school collected canned goods for the holidays, but this year they “canned” that project for the clothing drive.
“We have bright, caring students. They thought this was a great idea and put collection boxes in every classroom,” the teacher touted.
Scarves, hats, mittens, coats, pants, shirts, blankets — the little Santas piled their woolen treasures up in the school’s storage area.
Student council members gathered the gently-worn garments and bundled them into plastic bags for the long trip downtown.