Kindergarten students at Jackson School in Niles collected more than 500 cans and boxes of non-perishable food items to donate to Niles Community Services in November.
''I call them Jackson's Little Helpers,'' said school principal Antoinette D'Urso.
To help teach the children the importance of giving back to the community, the students were asked to bring food items to donate to needy families in the area.
Article Photos
The Niles Times / Kathleen Evanoff
Kindergarten students at Jackson School collected canned goods in November to donate to Niles Community Services. Pictured front row, from left ,are Tessa Haroulakis, 5; Hayden Grimes, 5; Jerry Markovich, 5; and Gavin Shura, 6. Back row, from left, are Tana Mostoller, educational assistant; Trish Mohan, NCS board member; Jean Williams, NCS director; Sherry Courim, school secretary; K.C. Rabel, teacher; and Rebekah Huston, teacher.
Niles Community Services commonly serves more than 700 families, including more than 1,200 children from Thanksgiving through the Christmas holiday and throughout the winter. The organization also collects canned goods and donations to help families year-round and provides referral services when needed.
In addition to the canned goods, student also are collecting mittens, gloves, hats and socks through Dec. 15. The warm, winter clothing will be distributed to families during Niles Community Services regular holiday distribution to be held Dec. 20 at the First Presbyterian Church of Niles.
The NCS office also received a grant underwritten by Unison Health Care for the purchase of additional mittens, gloves and socks for the distribution.
In addition to Jackson School's donation, Washington Elementary, which houses grades three through five, also donated more than 2,000 non-perishable food items to Niles Community Services.