The student news site of Bernards High School

The Crimson

The student news site of Bernards High School

The Crimson

The student news site of Bernards High School

The Crimson

Ways to Give Back over the Holidays

While receiving presents and being with your family is extremely heartwarming during the holiday season, it is also important to remember to give back to the community around this time of year. No matter how small or large the act of kindness is, it will make a difference in someone’s life. By giving back to those in need, people can gain different perspectives by completing selfless acts. Junior Cassidy Reyda said, “It feels great to help out others and to see others smile because of something I did for them. By making their day, they made mine.”

There are many ways to give back and get involved to spread some cheer. Key club at BHS is collecting gently worn shoes except flip flops and fur boots. Many people have used and still good condition shoes that are either worn out, or don’t like, so you can place those shoes in the box at the main office or drop them off in the recycling can in the glass hallway. Many clubs at BHS offer great ways to give back, for example Green Team does courtyard clean ups if you’re interested in getting your hands a little messy. Another simple and easy option is to just give a stranger or even a friend a compliment, it goes a long way. Even the smallest compliments or acts toward people could put them in a better mood for the rest of the day.

Volunteering at the local Food Bank is another great way to give back to the community. Whether its donating cans and boxes of food, or even signing up and going in to help package up food for people, families, and children in need, any gesture is much appreciated and will impact the lives of the needy during the holiday season. For example, the local soup kitchen in Morristown is always looking for volunteers and help around this time of year. A more crafty way to help out is creating little boxes full of goodies: including crayons, coloring books, little fun toys, and then wrap them up nicely and give to a children’s hospital. Another option could be when the snow starts coming in, and driveways and pathways start getting covered with large amounts of snow, offering to shovel a neighbor’s pathway is a random act of kindness. Year round animal shelters look for donating supplies to help the animals in order for better living conditions. By donating towels, blankets, brushes, it could help out the animals tremendously.


Giving back in different ways, whether big or small, can make volunteers realize the different lifestyles, opinions, and perspectives on the world around them. Helping out gets people out of their comfort zone and helps them with future success. Junior Chloe Warlick, said, “Volunteering to me is about giving back to the community and helping people who are not as fortunate, or just need a hand. It feels very rewarding when you have helped someone, or have showed them to help themselves. Volunteering really helps you adapt to listening to your peers and gain the perspectives of people’s lives.” Having numerous of opportunities to give back makes it easy to help others and make someone’s day that much better.

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