Santa Maria-Bonita School District schools are in the giving spirit this year embarking on a variety of charity drives and collections, according to district Public Information Officer Maggie White. Miller School students and staff are collecting canned and dry food for Catholic Charities, while Liberty School is collecting for the Santa Barbara County Foodbank, and Arellanes Junior High is collecting for the Good Samaritan Shelter.
The students of Taylor School are collecting pajamas, books, toys, and sweaters for the children in the Child Abuse Listening and Mediation (CALM) program. Jimenez School is holding a food drive for families in need whose children attend the school.
Tunnell School, along with some district offices, has been raising money to give to the family of Elijah Olivas, a Tunnell student who was severely injured in a car accident.
The various departments at the district have been raising money for a variety of charity organizations as well, including the Junior Blind Olympics, CASA, the Mission Hope Cancer Center, Domestic Violence Solutions, and Honor Flight of Central Coast.
This article appears in Dec 17-24, 2015.