Holiday Helping Hands

Across the Boulder Valley School District, schools are uplifting one another and extending their hands to the community, showing what’s possible when people come together with compassion, purpose, and heart. During this season of giving, that spirit glows even brighter. Here are highlights of just some of the ways BVSD is helping others.

Bear Creek Elementary collected clothing and food for Arapahoe Ridge students

For the past four years, Bear Creek Elementary has embraced the season of giving through its annual supply drive - an effort that has become a treasured tradition for students and families alike. 

After learning that Arapahoe Ridge was in need of specific items for their student supply closet, the Bear Creek PTO organized a class-by-class collection: Kindergarten - canned chili; first grade - gloves; second grade - beanies; third and fourth grade - hoodies; and fifth grade - canned soup.

Bear Creek Elementary Principal Tanner Dayhoff made sure the students understood the impact they made on others. “At the end of the drive, I brought the students to see the collection boxes to help them understand that their efforts have made a difference for individuals in our community. The students were very proud to see that they filled six large boxes.”

Arapahoe Ridge 12th grade student Sam Wheeler expressed how this small act of kindness created meaningful change. "Thank you very much for all that you have donated to the school. It has been very helpful and meaningful for all of us."

“Thank you for the support within our community and helping to take care of those at a time when they need it most. The ARHS community is grateful,” said Arapahoe Ridge Resource Teacher James Thompson. 

ARHS Mental Health Advocate Dr. Serena Lambert echoed the thanks. “Thank you so much for your effort, thoughtfulness, and modeling of how a community of caring people can create change and instill hope.”

Lafayette Elementary students collected socks for SPAN

The Lafayette Elementary School Student Council wanted to give back to the community and decided to participate in Socktober, an annual event that collects socks for homeless shelters.

“I had seen a teacher participate in this at a previous school that I worked at and thought it would be fun to bring to the Lafayette community,” said Lafayette Elementary 5th Grade Teacher Jacklyn Petty. “Socks are one of the most needed, yet least donated items to homeless shelters.”

Each class raised a certain amount of socks during the month of October, and in the end they collected nearly 3,600 pairs! The socks were donated to SPAN in Boulder, a shelter that creates a safe housing experience for adults, youth, and children that are impacted by domestic violence. SPAN shared that since they received so many new pairs of socks, they were able to share them with other local shelters.

“I am incredibly proud of the students and families of Lafayette Elementary to come together and support such a great cause,” added Petty. “They were so excited about this project, and their positive impact is felt throughout the Lafayette and Boulder community.”

Apex culinary arts students prepared meals for people in need

Last month, the Apex Culinary Arts program partnered with the Teacher Academy program, through their Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter, to address the gap families in our community were feeling in November SNAP benefit distributions. Knowing that they had the cooking space, skills, motivation, and community support, they felt compelled to help.

With generous donations from Impact on Education, the BVSD Food Project, and the broader Apex community, they were able to raise enough funds to prepare hot meals for 150 families of four. Each family received a fully prepared lasagna dinner complete with breadsticks, a garden salad, and a variety of desserts. Through a school-wide food drive supported by students and staff across all programs, every family also received a bag of non-perishable food items to take home.

This effort was entirely volunteer-driven and was completed in a very short amount of time. The students planned, portioned, cooked, assembled, packaged, labeled, cleaned, and coordinated distribution. 

“I am incredibly proud of our students,” shared Apex Culinary Teacher Amber Graff. “They took ownership of every step, showing maturity, teamwork, and compassion beyond their years. They saw a need in their community and didn’t hesitate to step up. Their hard work, long hours, and genuine care for others turned a simple idea into meaningful support for our community. Moments like this remind me why teaching matters - when we empower students to make a difference, they discover the impact they can make.”

BVSD Food Services/Community Food Share helped families have a nice Thanksgiving

BVSD Food Services received a $1,000 contribution from Impact on Education to support families through Community Food Share (CFS) for Thanksgiving. After hearing CFS had two trucks full of turkeys to donate to the community, Food Services offered to provide some side dishes.

They used the funding to create their popular cheese sauce paired with CFS-supplied noodles, totaling approximately 1,500 servings of macaroni and cheese. They also contributed about 1,000 servings of mashed potatoes with gravy. 

"It’s easy to assume food insecurity doesn’t happen in Boulder Valley, but we know it’s very real in our own community,” said BVSD Executive Chef, Yuri Sanow. “We knew our best bet at helping was partnering with Community Food Share to support their efforts, and adjust our production to make more of some items we already scratch cook for BVSD schools. Our team is invested in feeding our community - especially knowing so many families were struggling to put a full Thanksgiving meal on the table.”

“With the help, and partnership of BVSD Food Services, we were able to provide delicious Thanksgiving sides to over 600 of our neighbors in need during the week of Thanksgiving,” added Senior Food Resource & Compliance Manager at Community Food Share, Dana Van Daele-Deal. “To be able to provide these items to our neighbors was so exciting, as we watched them walk out our doors with a sense of ease, and a big smile on their faces knowing that they would be able to have a complete Thanksgiving meal. We are beyond grateful to the BVSD Food Services team for thinking of us, and for always supporting us in times of need. Thank you!”

Angevine provides Thanksgiving meal kits/holiday gift drive

Angevine Middle School students put together Thanksgiving meal baskets for families, and even offered an option if the family did not have a place to cook their food (ex: no kitchen). The baskets had turkeys (or a gift card if people couldn't accommodate a turkey), instant mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, and a pie. Partnering with the Lyons Club, they were able to provide approximately 75 meal baskets, which were either picked up at the school or delivered to the family’s home.  

In addition, Angevine offered a spaghetti dinner with bread, salad and dessert a few days before Thanksgiving. About 10 families attended this event and they were all sent home with leftovers! 

The food for the Thanksgiving baskets and the spaghetti dinner was donated by King Soopers and Sprouts.

“We know that many in our community are struggling right now and we wanted to do what we could to make the Thanksgiving break more festive and comfortable for our families,” said Angevine Community Liaison Joanna Dresen.

Dresen is also leading “Project Snowflake,” for the gift-giving season. There are 55 Angevine families who signed up this year, almost double of last year. If you are interested in providing gifts to a family in need this holiday season, please sign up to be a sponsor and drop gifts off to Angevine by Wednesday, Dec. 17. 

BVSD Share-A-Gift Annual Toy Drive

BVSD is once again kicking off its annual Share-A-Gift toy drive, a cherished community event that brings toys, books, and bicycles to children from low-income families across the Boulder Valley School District. Parents and guardians of children 14 and under who attend a BVSD school or live within the district’s attendance area are invited to select gifts free of charge.

BVSD schools are already rallying support, with many collecting impressive numbers of donations. For example, Meadowlark has consistently been the top donor of bicycles and this year is no exception as they donated 38 bikes! Fireside and Bear Creek tied for second place in numbers of bikes donated at 23 each, which will make many children and families happy this holiday season. As they have done for many years, Horizons K-8 students, teachers and parent volunteers will help sorting toys in the shop. Many BVSD schools have been filling donation boxes - helping set the tone for another meaningful year of giving.

Michelle Carpenter, former Boulder High School teacher and Share-A-Gift board member, shared how all BVSD students and their families benefit from Share-A-Gift’s distribution of toys.

“Our students are invaluable contributors to the annual success of our program,” says Carpenter. “Students from elementary school to high school grades are incredibly generous and compassionate in donating toys. As volunteers, over 100 BVSD students participate in many ways, from sorting and organizing games, puzzles, toys and more gifts to aiding families in "shopping" for gifts on our event day.”

“Several of our high schoolers who volunteer were once recipients of Share-A-Gift holiday toys and are delighted to be able to give back to younger children.”

This year’s Share-A-Gift shop will welcome families on Saturday, Dec. 20, 5777 Central Ave. in Boulder. Parents are admitted to the Toy Shop at a scheduled time based on their last name. To learn more and to access information in both English and Spanish, visit the Share-A-Gift website.