Marines get helping hand from members of Humanitarian Club
Gail Maholick/TIMES NEWS Members of the Humanitarian Club at the Lehighton Area Middle School collected 267 toys for the Schuylkill-Carbon Marine Corps League Detachment 626. From left are, front row, Haley Haggerty, Aubrie Rhoades and Susan Cook; second row, Emily Snyder, Kayla Strubeck, Cera Gaston, Janessa Marsh, Angelica Kercsmar and Julie Benning; and back row, Joe Sweeney, Samantha Parsons, Brianna Karpowicz, Jonathan Ropell, Kaitlynne Franklin and Brian Snyder.
A 10-year-old girl's enthusiasm helped the Lehighton Area Middle School's newly formed Humanitarian Club meet its goals of collecting more than 250 toys for the annual Toys for Tots toy drive.
Cera Gaston was the girl who took her role seriously as a club member.
Each day during the toy drive, Gaston read a story she wrote during morning announcements to spark her classmate's to bring in a toy. She also dressed up as a reindeer during a school assembly.
One of the advisers, Katherine Decker, said that the school began forming clubs last year and asked each teacher to become an adviser, which sparked the idea for the "Humanitarian Club." The club was formed to assist other groups with projects.
Gaston's enthusiasm drummed up 267 toys, which were donated to the Schuylkill-Carbon Marine Corps League Detachment 626.
The Humanitarian Club meet every other Friday in the school.
Other advisers of the Humanitarian Club are Julie Solt and Amanda Rex.
