By Emily Sanderson — January 24, 2008
EPHRAIM — Sirens from several police cars blasted through Ephraim on Friday afternoon, but not because of an emergency. Instead, the Utah Jazz Bear and public safety officials accompanied a parade of buses to Wal-Mart for Christmas.
125 students from Ephraim Elementary School were each given $90 and told that they could buy whatever they wanted for Christmas. About 400 student volunteers from Manti High School, or two to three volunteers per child, accompanied the youngsters to help them with their purchase, said Ron Litteral, advisor of the student body officers at Manti High School who helped organize the event.
“These students got to see what Christmas is really all about,” Litteral said.
Blaine Hardy, manager of the Ephraim Wal-Mart, was touched by the kindness of the Manti High School students.
“It is amazing that such a high percentage of the total high school volunteered to help,” Hardy said. “You’d think that kids at this age would be indifferent, especially at this time of the year when they are so busy.”
Alice Wyatt, student body activities director and a senior at Manti High School, also helped organize the event. In addition, she was assigned one of the elementary school students to work with on purchasing items.
It was so nice to meet the kids so that we could see what they needed,” Wyatt said. “Most spent their money on clothes.”
Bear Hugs for Christmas which is affiliated with Firemen & Friends for Kids, raised the funds privately to give to the students. The organization also provided Christmas for two local families, providing about $12,000 total in gift certificates to needy Ephraim residents.
The organization, headed by Manti High School graduate Brenda Hoskins and the Utah Jazz Bear, selects five schools throughout the state each Christmas to give to students based on economic need, Litteral said.
The high school volunteers met their elementary school gift recipients at a party at Ephraim Middle School on Friday afternoon, where two High School Musical dancers provided entertainment, and food was donated by Costa Vida, a Mexican restaurant in Provo. Santa Claus also attended the event, Litteral said.
Former Jazz player Mark Eaton, who visited Manti High School last week to encourage the students to volunteer, was so impressed by the students that he participated in Friday’s party as the MC. Local radio personality J.D. Fox of 93.7 FM also provided sound for the event.
Wyatt said that the 20 students in her student government class made invitation for the 125 elementary students and personally delivered them to the students’ homes.
They really went the extra mile to make sure that each felt comfortable and welcome to attend the party, Litteral said.
The program was so successful that Manti High School will do it again next year, and the students will be raising the funds. Bear Hugs for Christmas will also subsidize the money that students are able to raise, Litteral said.
Wal-Mart will also contribute to the Christmas fund and will provide a space at the store for the high school students to raise funds from the community, Hardy said.
About her experience, Wyatt said, “You just want to give your whole Christmas to them.”
J.D. Fox, radio station identify family to be helped by Bear Hugs for Christmas
EPHRAIM — Ephtraim — Local radio personality J.D. Fox of 93.7 FM KLDL identified a family to be the recipient of the Utah Jazz Bear’s Hugs for Christmas through an on-air campaign requesting nominations.
“This was a family that was able to have a Christmas when they wouldn’t have otherwise,” Fox said. “To be able to orchestrate this was a real honor.”
The family that Fox identified and assisted at Wal-Mart on Friday has had a child in Primary Children’s Medical Center recently. The mother has been so busy taking the child to regular appointments at the hospital that she has not had time to prepare for Christmas. Extended family members coordinated with Fox and the mother to get her to Wal-Mart on Friday afternoon just as she was returning from the hospital in Salt Lake City. To her surprise, she was presented with a gift card by the Utah Jazz Bear and Fox.
“At the radio station, I work with promotions all the time. We give away four-wheelers and other prizes throughout the year, and that is fun,” Fox said. “But this is a totally different thing when it’s a need, not just a want.”
