ROBERTSDALE — Nearly 200 Golden Bears converged on Walmart in Robertsdale to spend Saturday, Dec. 6 shopping for fellow students in need of a little help this holiday season.
For Walmart Store Manager Matthew Stanley, it was a welcome sight.
“I think this is a great thing they are doing for the community,” he said. “We are proud to be a part of it.”
A total of 175 students, plus teachers, coaches and faculty members, participated this year, nearly triple the number that participated in last year’s inaugural program, said RHS Assistant Principal Lauren Lavender.
“It is amazing that these students would take time out of their Saturday to come and do this for fellow students,” she said. “We are so proud that we have students here at RHS who are willing to do this.”
The first “Shop with a Golden Bear” program was held Dec. 5, 2020, organized by Jennifer Janey, a science teacher and one of the faculty advisors for the school’s National Honor Society.
Through the program, student athletes, members of clubs and organizations are invited to raise money for families in need in the community.
School social workers helped to identify families connected to the school who need a little help getting through the holidays, Janey said.
“We chose to focus on students who are under the age of 18,” Janey said. “The parents said they didn’t want anything for themselves, but just if we could provide a few items so that these students could have a good Christmas.”
In total, there were 28 families involved with the program, which included 71 students under the age of 18, Janey said.
Students representing 27 different clubs and sports teams participated in Saturday’s program. The students don’t actually shop with the families they are providing for, Janey said. In fact, chances are they will never know who they are shopping for.
“Each group is given a family, which is identified by a letter,” she said. “And with each family, the students are numbered with wish list items for each family member.”
The groups are given a specific dollar amount to spend on gift items and a specific dollar amount to spend on food items.
When they are done, they check out as a group and items are brought back to the school cafeteria where the gifts are wrapped and the food items are boxed up or packaged.
“I am super proud of our students and our teachers who participated this past Saturday and all of those who donated to this program to give families in our community an opportunity for a better Christmas,” said RHS Principal Joe Sharp. “And I am super proud to be able to partner with Walmart who opened their doors to our students and allowed our band and choir to spread a little Christmas cheer on Saturday.”
