After months of hard work collecting donations and raising money, Catholic Central High School successfully wrapped up their 2024 Santa’s Anonymous campaign. This past Wednesday, students and staff assembled an impressive 74 Christmas hampers, which were distributed to families across the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division.
"Santa’s Anonymous has been a cherished tradition here at CCH for over twenty years," said Matthew New, Associate Principal at CCH and one of the campaign’s organizers. "The need in the community has grown over the last few years, so we’ve expanded from supporting 56 families last year to 74 families this year, with plans to grow even more next year. The most important thing for us is to never say no—if a school recommends a family, we do everything we can to support them and ensure they receive something for Christmas."
Santa’s Anonymous helps teach CCH and Holy Spirit students about the importance of giving back, not only during the holiday season but throughout the year.
"The main goal is that we have fifty 16-, 17-, and 18-year-old kids here giving back to their community and trying to make an impact," Mr. New said. "The wonderful thing about doing this for so long is knowing that some students in this building have received this care and these packages when they were younger. Seeing it come full circle, with those same students now helping and giving back—even if they don’t realize they once benefited from it—is truly incredible."
Donations and funds for Santa’s Anonymous have been raised since the start of the school year by schools across the division. Fundraising efforts included pumpkin and poinsettia sales, bottle drives, CCH’s welding program fundraiser, and cash donations. For the first time this year, eight elementary schools participated, adding to what has traditionally been a junior high and high school initiative.
"Thanks to the incredible efforts of our Holy Spirit community, about 80 percent of all the food and gifts included in the hampers were donated, with only 20 percent purchased using funds raised," said Mr. New. "It takes many, many people at different levels to make this special campaign a reality, and we’re so thankful to everyone who has shown their support."
