Students surpass Toys for Tots goal

The Christmas spirit of giving is alive and well among students at Oak Mountain Middle School, as evidenced by their recent campaign to benefit Toys for Tots. 

On, Dec. 9, more than 100 eighth-grade National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) members met at the Hoover Toys-R-Us location to purchase a variety of toys, board games, stuffed animals, bicycles and books to help families in central Alabama provide presents for their children. The NJHS-sponsored event netted $28,605, which significantly surpassed this year’s goal of $25,000.

Students shopped in groups using a calculator to keep track of expenses as not exceed the $230 allotment each could spend. Approximately 2,510 items were purchased through donations. Local moving company Changing Spaces provided assistance in transporting the items back to the school.

Students were encouraged to earn donations rather than just ask parents to make a contribution. Many generously donated their birthday gift money, hosted neighborhood bake sales and even cleaned driveways to earn their personal contributions. The U.S. Marine Corps, a local sponsor, thanked students for their contributions at an assembly before packing the items in several military vehicles.

Oak Mountain Middle School has raised nearly $300,000 since it first began supporting Toys for Tots in 1999 and has earned national recognition for its generosity.

For additional information, please contact OMMS Principal Larry Haynes at 682-5210.

– From Shelby County Schools