PICKENS — On Friday, Nov. 13, students at Holly Springs Elementary packed 100 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child is a Samaritan’s Purse project that sends shoeboxes full of small toys and necessities to needy children all over the world.[cointent_lockedcontent]

Pickens football players Ridge Clark and Dawson Lovell help kids at Holly Springs prepare shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

The school collected donations for two weeks. Parents, students and teachers brought in items and also donated $700 to cover the cost of shipping the boxes. On Friday, Pickens High School football players came to help the third-grade students pack the boxes and made sure every box contained the necessary items.

This annual service learning project teaches Holly Springs students the importance of giving and helping others. Packing and sending 100 boxes is an amazing donation from the small school. The students continue to show how special they truly are. As Holly Springs’ Bears, they certainly are “small paws making big impressions.”

The school would like to extend special thanks to Dr. Dan Hinton, Dr. Elizabeth Armstrong and Dr. Don Marler of Pickens Dental Associates for donating toothbrushes and toothpaste.

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