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Oak Mountain Middle School hosted its annual special ceremony to donate hundreds of toys after raising more than $10,000 for Toys for Tots. (For the Reporter/Cole Pevey)

By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

NORTH SHELBY – With shopping carts filling up and holiday cheer spreading through their minds, students of Oak Mountain Middle School took a day to shop for toys, games and other forms of entertainment for kids in need on Friday, Dec. 13.

All of the school’s National Junior Honor Society members helped to close out the annual fundraiser, sharing the many items they bought with veterans for Toys for Tots that afternoon and helping to spend the more than $10,000 that they raised in the midst of the holiday season.

Principal Sandy Evers spoke on how successful the event was, highlighting how well the school continued on this historic tradition to help spread the true meaning of the holidays.

“Anytime you can get the community, the students, the staff and families working together on a project that’s for the betterment of kids, it’s a great thing,” Evers said. “Each year, as the students come through, they don’t know much about it, but their families understand it because we’ve done it for so long so there’s longevity in that and in the community… It’s fun to see it come full circle each year and it’s a responsibility that I feel like we have and we’re proud to do it.”

While the students were able to help raise a large part of the total amount for the fundraiser, the highlight of the annual event was a car show that was made possible thanks to the school’s interventionist, Gretchen Luenberger.

The show featured numerous cars and motorcycles, while also welcoming in food trucks, music and vendors, all in an effort to help raise money for Toys for Tots. The show raised $3,500 worth of donations in the form of both toys and cash.

Evers was proud of how much the students and community came together to help make this day possible, working for a much wider cause that everyone could get behind.

“I think it’s great when kids can think of other people besides themselves nowadays,” Evers said. “To have young people be able to think like that, just see past themselves and to think of others in times of their need is a great thing and to open their eyes to that is wonderful.”

The money raised through the fundraiser allowed the students of the NJHS to purchase 1,987 toys and other gifts, providing kids a pleasant scene to wake up to on Christmas morning.

Those toys were able to be gifted to members of the United States Marine Corps at a celebratory assembly later that day, who transported them to the Toys for Tots organization in time for holiday festivities.

Everyone in attendance that afternoon was super grateful and jubilant for all of the hard work that the Oak Mountain community put in this year to help deliver a great Christmas to children around the country.

“They can just see at one time the great mass of toys and they can see the check and they can see all of this was done by them and raised by them and their hard work and efforts and that these are going directly to kids and for kids in need, it’s a neat thing,” Evers said. “They know they’re changing lives and they’re making a difference in the world, and that’s a positive thing.”

Since the tradition began 28 years ago, the school has raised more than $650,000 for Toys for Tots through both cash and online donations from those around the area.

Evers was very appreciative of all the effort that everyone pitched in during this season and is highly optimistic about how much this tradition will continue to grow in the future years to come.

“As principal of the middle school, I would have to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of those that are selfless, that continue to give to such a great program,” Evers said. “I could not be more grateful for the community support, for the hard-working staff at Oak Mountain Middle School and for the students that spread such great joy and cheer.”

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