Students HOPE: A Great Tradition Continues
One of our annual traditions is back:on Saturday, Dec. 15, the 19th-annual Students HOPE (Helping Other People Eat) event will occur. Every year the school hosts around 1500 Denver-area residents, providing them with donated clothing, toiletries, toys, a holiday lunch, even flu shots. A chance to visit with a bilingual Santa Claus is one of the most popular features—our Santa goes non-stop for about four hours that day! Completely student-run, HOPE has allowed CA students to gain valuable leadership experience as well as the satisfaction and sense of purpose that comes from helping others.
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HOPE co-leaders Ian Peterson and Ryan Sachar, along with faculty advisor Lisa Boes, have put in hours of hard work already to ensure that the event will be a success. About 20-30 other students have devoted a great deal of time as well, playing major roles in organizing, fund raising, gathering goods and clothing, buying toys and obtaining games.
For the past two years we have also used the Friday before HOPE as an all-Upper School service day. In between regular classes or when they have a free block, every student is asked to pitch in and help out. So when we add in the involvement of all the students and teachers this Friday and Saturday, virtually everyone in CA's Upper School plays a role. That makes HOPE the unique event it is.
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