HandsOn
Jacksonville, together with business and community sponsors, visited several
Duval County elementary schools on December 3 for "A Visit from St. Nicholas."
The annual event, aimed at promoting literacy, provided the elementary students with gifts for the holiday season.
Thousands of students from 12 schools arrived at school to find their doors and hallways covered in gold tinsel, and backpacks full of books and toys at their desks.
Volunteers from business and community organizations visited each school to read the story of Saint Nicholas to students and talk to them about giving. A real St. Nick visited all the classrooms and encouraged students to be kind to others and take time to read.
“I am excited for our students to be a part of this wonderful event,” said one teacher. “For some of our students, the present they received today may be the only one they receive this holiday season, and for that, I am very grateful and appreciative.”
The same volunteers who visited with students on December 3 also spent time beforehand preparing for the event by wrapping the thousands of books and stuffing the backpacks. On the evening before the visit, volunteers decorated each school’s hallways and classrooms.
Duval County Public Schools would like to thank HandsOn Jacksonville, as well as the sponsoring businesses and organizations, for their commitment and support of the students at the following schools: Arlington, Bayview, Biscayne, Brentwood, Englewood, Gregory Drive, Oak Hill, R.L. Brown, Sadie Tillis, San Jose, Pinedale and Ruth Upson.
Through the event, HandsOn Jacksonville, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, delivered backpacks filled with books and toys to nearly 6,500 DCPS' students.
For more pictures from the visits, check out the
DCPS' flickr photostream.
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