“A beautiful sight. We’re happy tonight…”
For the first time, the Trust Club is bringing its own Winter Wonderland to Kinnelon School District. The Trust Club has chosen to host an event in the winter in response to their huge success in October: “Fright Fest.” Students can look forward to a movie with popcorn, enjoyable crafts, and high school students dressed in their favorite winter outfits at this event in Feb.
The Trust Club is a group of KHS students who work with the elementary and middle schools, as well as the community, to raise funds in order to organize entertaining activities for these students and their families. With these funds, the Trust Club has been able to put on events such as their famous Fright Fest, Winter Wonderland, and Family Fun Night.
Advisor Heather Becker says, “The Trust Club is about bringing the community together by having our high school students mentor and do activities with our elementary schools, community, and students. I am looking forward to seeing how excited the little kids get [while] interacting with our high schoolers.” The Trust Club concentrates on organizing events for younger children, in order to create a safe and fun community for them. Families are even more enthusiastic about the Winter Wonderland event after seeing how popular the Fright Fest was.
Advisor Vincent Passariello states, “This event is going to target resource students, as well as their families. We want to make this event more intimate compared to the Fright Fest, such as only one of the cafeterias, rather than both. Some ideas we have for this winter event are playing a winter movie with popcorn being made, tables with some crafts kids can do, as well as having the high school students dress up and take pictures with the kids.”
Passariello enjoys seeing the children’s and high school students’ joy. He has continued to receive a lot of great feedback about the events the Trust Club has held and hopes to see more as they hold their Winter Wonderland. One of the most rewarding parts of organizing these events is hearing how much fun the kids have.
The Trust Club is very excited to concentrate this event solely on students with special needs as they can develop strong bonds with the students. Junior Jake Piccola says, “I am very excited for our Winter Wonderland event because I love the smiles on the kids’ faces. Building friendships and relationships with these students is a lot of fun for me. At these events, we always have a blast with the kids.” As a lot of the high school students that are involved in the Trust Club are outgoing, it is very easy and exciting for them to bond with new students they don’t know.
The Trust Club is eagerly anticipating the finalization of some very interesting projects for their Winter Wonderland. They also plan to collect donations again with the aim of holding a spring event.
