By: Quinn Isenberg 

It is important especially during the holiday season to help the community.  

This season the Student Council Association (SCA) at GS did their part by participating in Operation Santa Claus.  

Operation Santa Claus is a collaborative effort by Shop ‘n Save, Trib Total Media and the Salvation Army that aims to feed holiday meals to needy families across Western Pennsylvania. 

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Members of SCA pose for a group picture after helping the Salvation Army

load food into trucks.

Photo Courtesy: Ella Helman

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“This year we served 2,500 families through 24 Salvation Army units across eight counties,” director of marketing at Trib Total Media Ms. Lindsay Bock said.  

This is accomplished every year with the help of incredible volunteers. For the last 10 years members of SCA have given up their time to this cause.  

“This gives back to local families, so having a chance to do that during a tough time of the year is a good opportunity for the kids,” SCA Advisor Mr. Christopher Gazze said.  

This year was no different as SCA members went to help get the food out to those in need.  

“While we were there, we took pallets of food, boxes and cans and loaded them onto different trucks that got shipped to places around town,” SCA communications liaison Julie Elias said.  

Members of SCA were more than happy to spend their time doing this volunteer work.  

“It was very fulfilling to be able to help members of the community who are less fortunate,” SCA President Rocco Himes said.  

Many students are familiar with the benefits of volunteering, but not many think about volunteering as an opportunity to learn. Experiences like this can help those giving their time learn more about themselves and the community they are serving.  

“It opened my eyes to the number of families who need a little extra help and are lucky enough to have programs like this one,” Elias said.  

The program was praised by the volunteers as an all-around excellent experience.  

“As a whole I think Operation Santa Claus is an amazing thing that not only brings volunteers together but also helps out families who need food in these times,” she said. “I think it is an amazing program.”  

While Operation Santa Claus has come to an end, there are still many more opportunities to help the community. SCA will continue to lend a hand by volunteering throughout the school year.  

“It’s good to help people out and I take pride in that,” Himes said.