For years, schools in the Franklin Regional School District would operate a program helping out less-fortunate families during the holiday season.
Through school counselors, families in need would be identified and through fundraising, would be provided with gifts .
Just a little more than a mile west down Old William Penn Highway, staff and volunteers at Murrysville Alliance Church were doing something very similar.
It was so similar, in fact, that when they began comparing notes, school and church officials realized their efforts were frequently overlapping.
“We sat down and had a meeting to say, ‘Why don’t we partner and work together?’” said Murrysville Alliance Pastor Dan Lawrence. “So they’ve taken the lead on the holiday help in the schools, with the goal of pulling those family names together.”
This year’s “Holiday Help” program will see all of the schools working together through their counselors, with the church and some of its partner organizations organizing and distributing items.
“We were doing it out of our buildings, but what (Murrysville Alliance) was able to do is bring in other community organizations, who would add in things like socks, clothing and other things,” said Sloan Elementary Principal and support services Director Jennifer DiFulvio. “They were able to make it a one-stop shop for families.”
Lawrence said the church’s designation as theSalvation Army unit for Murrysville and Export has been a help.
“We’d get assistance with food and other things from the Salvation Army,” Lawrence said.
This year the “Holiday Help” program will be similar, but because of health and safety precautions, about 100 families will receive gift cards.
Parents wishing to enroll in the program can call the counselor at their child’s school, and DiFulvio said if a family has children in multiple school buildings, a call to one counselor can start the coordination process for the whole family.
“The school doing this speaks volumes to the people there and how they care about those in our district,” Lawrence said. “We’re helping them with the same mission we’ve had for a number of years: aiding families in need in the Franklin Regional School District and our community so they can have a Christmas.”
Lawrence said programs like this can help alleviate the pressure on so many social service agencies that are dealing with larger client numbers amid the coronavirus pandemic and high unemployment numbers.
“Across the board, you’ve had individuals in the community step up to help neighbors, to help families and people they know, and I’ve seen it over and over again during (the pandemic),” Lawrence said. “I commend those who are walking through this with the rest of us, and who have still taken time to say, ‘My neighbor needs help.’”
