Community Service!!!

Hey everyone!

There are several ways you can help out your community! SAGE is currently hosting two great community service programs, the Angel Tree Drive and the Maricopa Book Drive. Make sure to check them out, because they are both amazing ways to give back to your community! Here is some info on both of them:

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Angel Tree Drive

Where: The tree is currently set up in the DV Guidance Center.

When: All tags are due December 11th, 2008. That's a Thursday, so don't be late!

Who: The names of the requesters are on the tags, and their ages range from newborn to 50+.

Purpose: The Angel Tree Drive is a touching way to make one less fortunate person's Christmas much better! Each tag on the tree has the name of a person and two gifts that they are requesting. Our task is to help grant their wishes by going out and buying both gifts that they are asking for.

How: Once you take a tag, you must sign up in the Guidance Department by giving your name, the name of the person that will be recieving your gifts, and the names of the two gifts you are donating. Afterwards, when you bring your unwrapped gifts in, you should attach the tag to the presents before placing them underneath the tree. Remember, leave them unwrapped!

About the SAGE Angel Tree Drive (From Mr. White):

The SAGE Angel Tree Drive is in conjunction with A New Leaf (formerly PREHAB of Arizona), an organization that serves the needs of families who are homeless and/or abused. For those of you not familiar with the program, every year the Desert Vista SAGE Club coordinates a school wide program to fulfill a two item wish list for hundreds of individuals who are homeless, either because of financial reasons or because they are seeking safety from an abusive home. As you may already know, hard financial times mean that rates of homelessness and domestic abuse increase; as a result, A New Leaf is experiencing an overwhelming number of needy families. Therefore, we are looking to assist 200 individuals, as opposed to our normal 150. If you feel as though you might be financially strapped this year, understand that many of the items individuals ask for are quite simple, such as diapers, a teething toy, a packet of toy cars, a doll, a pad of paper, etc. It is important that the needs of these individuals are served, so whether you are or are not able to give this year, please pass this information to friends and family.

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Maricopa Book Drive

Where: The boxes are located in the library, the Guidance Office, and the front office

When: Similar to the Angel Tree Drive, books are due on Thursday, December 11, 2008

Who: The receivers of these books will be the students of the Maricopa Unified School District, schools K-8.

How: This book drive is for anybody with dusty picture books stashed away at home! These books may no longer hold any importance to you, but they can help out a needy kid. Books can be dropped off at any of the three centers mentioned above. Please make sure they are age appropriate! Books can be newly purchased or used, and sign-up sheets will be placed next to each box if you wish to receive community service hours.

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More opportunities...

Another great community service opportunity to look out for is the Festival of Lights. 100+ volunteers are needed on November 29th, and it's a fun way to earn your community service hours!

The kick off party is on November 29th, 2008. There are four shifts that you can currently apply for:

Shift #1 - 10:30 am - 1:30 pm
Shift #2 - 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Shift #3 - 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Break Down - 7pm to 10pm

Activities include working at the game booths, selling tickets, manning an inflatable activity, working in concession booths, and much more!

Also, you can sign up to work at the Hayrides (Saturdays, December 13th and 20th) and the Light Removal (Saturday, January 10th, 2009)

For more information on signing up for the Festival of Lights, you can contact Alix Parker, president of Desert Vista's Key Club.

You can also apply directly at their home page:

http://www.folaz.org/volunteers.php

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I hope to see everybody participating in these great events! Remember, both the Maricopa Book Drive and the Angel Tree Drive come to a close on December 11th, 2008.

~Grace Ma, Community Service Officer