Extending Helping Hands, with Mittens

The students and parents of North Oakview Elementary helped out 15 school families who needed a little something extra this year. Through an annual program called Helping Hands, the school set up a tree of mittens, each one containing gifts and items requested by a family. Other school families donated most of the items. For those requests that weren’t selected, first-graders took a shopping trip to Meijer, which had donated gift cards. Led by teacher Kelly Putnam and parent Stephanie Raven, the students checked out the sales ads, walked to the Plainfield Meijer and fulfilled the wish list of the 15 families in need.