Broadcasters make business of the bayou
December 15, 2010
Jimmie Ordoyne Sr.
December 17, 2010
Fifteen days before Christmas, Vandebilt Catholic High School sent three school buses, two rented trucks and a deputy out in front along Bayou Black and onward to Gibson Elementary School, where unknowing students would be the recipients of bicycles, scooters and truckloads of gifts courtesy of the high school’s seniors.
Vandebilt adopted the elementary school as part of an annual, senior-led project, raised funds through dress-down days and community donations and delivered the gifts last Friday morning to a surprised but appreciative crowd.
“I’m speechless,” said a teary-eyed Chris Sherman, Pre-K teacher at Gibson Elementary for 18 years. “This is just over the top. I never expected anything close to this. I’m so happy for the kids to be on the receiving end and so thankful for Vandebilt for the work and generosity they put into this. It truly is like the elves have landed.”
Draped in letterman jackets, with Santa hats atop their heads and bags of gifts in their hands, the elves from Vandebilt adhered to the wish lists of their beneficiaries and doled out correctly sized clothing and play things, including sports balls and toy guitars.
“This year, the kids were surprised,” said Doug Hamilton, assistant athletic director at Vandebilt. “They didn’t know we were doing all this. They came to our school Thursday to sing. They thought they were just coming to do some Christmas stuff.”
After they received their gifts, the kids flooded the courtyard n racing past on bikes, tossing footballs with Terrier players and spraying their elders with silly string n as they enjoyed their newly prized possessions.
“It made you think of how lucky we are to see them open up a pair of socks and be excited about it,” said Amie Chauvin, a Vandebilt senior. “It really makes you think twice about what the season is about.
“It was just an amazing feeling to see all these kids be so happy, and it is in turn a good feeling to know that we helped them have one of the Christmases of their lives.”
The high school allows students to vary from their uniform dress code by paying one dollar per each non-traditional article of clothing they want to wear. The money, along with additional student and community donations, is spent on the gifts.
Gibson Elementary was the fifth school in five years to be on the receiving end of Vandebilt’s generosity. Before 2005, the seniors would adopt families and donate gifts in a similar manner but more intimate setting.
“It’s kind of a community effort, and being a Catholic school, it fits in right with our mission of service and charity,” said Hamilton, who first experienced the annual Christmas project as an eighth-grader in 1982. “It’s something that has been a long tradition n since at least 1982 n doing sort of an organized Christmas project.”
Thomas Lodrigue, 4, shows off a pair of shoes he received as part of the Vandebilt High senior Christmas project. The school’s seniors surprised the children at Gibson Elementary with bikes, sports balls and other wish-list requested presents. ERIC BESSON
