Selfless Service Reaches Far Ends of the Globe
In preparation for the holidays, students partnered with a variety of charities and organizations, offering support and sharing much-needed joy with neighbors near and far.
This year, Muris Karamovic, a Principia employee, shared an inspiring full-circle story. He recalls receiving a gift box of treasures 26 years ago in his home country of Bosnia when he was a boy.
As he was walking through the Middle School this past month, Muris noticed a stack of cherry-red gift boxes bearing a familiar logo: a shoebox on wings.
The logo belongs to an organization called Samaritan's Purse, and the campaign is Operation Christmas Child. The program began in 1993 when the organization’s president received a call from a man in England asking if he’d be willing to fill shoeboxes with gifts for children in war-torn Bosnia. With the help of a local church, 28,000 shoeboxes were sent to children in the Balkans that Christmas. Every year since, Samaritan’s Purse has collected shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items for children around the world. More than 178 million children in more than 150 countries have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox since the organization’s humble beginnings.
This marks the second year Principia Middle School students have been lovingly filling these special boxes for Samaritan’s Purse. For many children around the world, this is the first gift they’ve ever received.
This year, Middle School students and families sent more than 40 carefully curated boxes to children. With so many organizations to partner with, Samaritan’s Purse was chosen because of its wide reach. Students get the opportunity to make a difference in another child’s life—providing a long-lasting memory for children around the world. Muris remembers feeling truly touched by the gift he received so many years ago when he was a child.
An Abundance of Giving Opportunities
Students in Early Childhood are also helping their neighbors during the holidays. Preschool philanthropists participated in the Salvation Army Angels project, gathering numerous gifts from students, teachers, and families that were delivered to 93 children (angels) in the St. Louis area. The love-guided campaign is part of the Preschool’s involvement in the Impact Challenge, a School-wide initiative based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which include eliminating poverty and hunger.
Lower School students wrote letters to Principia veterans and created gifts for residents of Peace Haven, a Christian Science nursing facility in St. Louis. Families donated winter necessities for area homeless as part of Operation Overflow, led by an Upper School student. Other Upper School students led collection drives and spearheaded projects collecting clothing and other items for those experiencing economic hardship triggered by the pandemic.
Additionally, all levels collected nearly $5,500 to give to Facilities workers in appreciation of all they’ve done this year. This is a beloved yearly tradition that everyone at the School—students, faculty, staff, and parents—participates in.
Love Knows No Boundaries
Though this holiday season may look different from past years, School students at all levels are proving that love has no limits and knows no distance, learning that a small act of selfless love can go a long way and be remembered for a lifetime.