The Henrico Christmas Mother is an annual donation drive focused on giving back to the community. Items such as non-perishable food, hats, gloves, books, and toys are collected and given to families in need across Henrico County.
The Student Council Association, supervised by social studies teacher Austin Campbell, has been working to collect donation items. The drive is student-led, as representatives of the SCA are collecting and organizing the donations from Wildcat Connection rooms. Every Wednesday, representatives ensure they go to rooms around the school to make announcements in classes, reminding students to contribute to the food drive and support their community.
Not only is promotion evident during school hours, but SCA also aims to increase awareness and student participation with the help of online advertising.
“We’ve been focusing on connecting with the student population through social media,” said Campbell. “We’ve started a multi-level campaign by posting information and videos on DR News announcements, Instagram, and TikTok, along with posters and flyers around school.”
In addition to this campaign, a competition has been set amongst grade levels and Wildcat connection classes, where the class that brings the most donations will receive a prize to congratulate them for their efforts.
“Our goal is to collect as many donations as possible in order to create the biggest impact in our community. In order to achieve this goal, we [SCA] are promoting prizes for the grade level and Wildcat Connection Class with the most points. We also assigned different point values to different items in order to increase competition and donations,” said executive president and senior Holli Hopkins.
Despite challenges pitting grades and classes against one another to drive participation, the Christmas Mother builds connection between Deep Run and our overall Henrico County community. Items go directly to underprivileged families, supporting them in times of need and conflict.
“When someone donates a can or two, it doesn’t seem like a lot in the moment,” said Campbell. “But when we’re filling boxes with those cans and can see the pile of items grow, it really shows just how much we’re giving back to the community.”
As the holiday season approaches, SCA hopes Christmas Mother will inspire more students to contribute and continue the tradition of supporting families across our county. With each donation, the school moves closer to making a meaningful difference in the lives of those around us.
