Freeman’s 15 days of giving brings in toys, food, clothing

Hundreds of donated toys, food and clothing items helped make the holidays brighter for needy families as Freeman students in grades K-12 completed Freeman’s 15 Days of Giving holiday drive. The Freeman School District’s second annual district-wide community service campaign began on Nov. 26 and concluded on Dec. 14.

Students, staff and parents in Freeman elementary, middle and high school worked together to promote the campaign, collect and count donated items, and deliver the items to local social service agencies including Spokane Valley Partners (formerly Spokane Valley Community Center).

Last week, nearly 50 middle school students volunteered at the Spokane Valley Partners’ Season of Sharing to help distribute the items they worked so hard to collect, according to a press release from the Freeman Parent Teacher Student Association.

Freeman’s 15 began on Nov. 26 with “5 Days of Toys.” Students, families and staff donated more than 695 new toys or gift items during the first five days of the campaign.

The second week, “5 Days of Food” included “Turkey Tuesday” which generated donations of 55 frozen turkeys. Nearly 2,000 pounds of nonperishable food items were also collected to benefit Freeman families and the Spokane Valley Food Bank.

The third and final week, “5 Days of Clothing” wrapped up on Dec. 14, generating donations of 2,150 clothing items for children, teens and adults. Teen clothing was donated to Crosswalk, children’s and men’s items were given to the Spokane Valley Clothing Bank with women’s items benefiting the YWCA’s Our Sister’s Closet.