Thanksgiving, the perfect middle child of holidays in between Halloween and Christmas. What’s not to love with all the food, parades, and most importantly: giving back to the community.

It’s that time of year again here at Beaver Area and that means our fourth annual Day of Giving is coming Wednesday.

Since the beginning of the school year, English and SHOUT teachers Mrs. Heather Bixler and Ms. Aimee Firmani have been rigorously planning the half-day event with the help of other faculty members and SHOUT members.

“This has always been a labor of love and a lot of work; this year we’re immensely thankful for the help by Mrs. Mundy, Mr. Jenkins, Ms. Lynn, and Mr. Didio to make this year the best,” shared Ms. Firmani.

Some new activities that these organizers have been able to put together include heading to the local Humane Society, middle schoolers making jewelry for the Women’s Center, a group heading to Four Mile Church (which I’ll personally be a part of), and another group going to College Square to help out where needed.

What’s surprising is that no activity from last year was cut to make room for these new ones, the event has only been growing.

Part of that growth involved stepping back and looking at what worked and didn’t work from last year’s Day of Giving.

“We want this to be a student event as much as possible, so this year we gave out surveys and we get some really good ideas like having snacks (the cafeteria is giving out cookies). One good idea last year that didn’t make it was getting food trucks to come to the school, but that unfortunately didn’t happen last year nor this year. We also have come up with better systems to keep things organized,” said Mrs. Bixler.

Of course none of the event could happen without the support from local stores and businesses. Sponsors for this year include Bags & Blessings, McIntosh Productions, Hot Nails and Spa, Fry Transportation, Aramark food service, a jeans fundraiser week, and a $1200 grant from the BASD Education Foundation.

Mrs. Bixler and Ms. Firmani may be planning the event, yet they have to remain in the school to ensure everything goes smoothly and just in case Channel 11 News makes a return like last year.

Beaver Area started the Day of Giving tradition back in 2019 and was principal Dr. Murray’s idea. When Dr. Murray left in 2021, she approached SHOUT to keep hosting the event, keeping the goodness of the event alive.

In just the span of a few short years, the Day of Giving has only grown and not just in the Middle School and High School but to Dutch Ridge Elementary as well. More specifically, the sixth grade students are going to help too, and this is the first year when the high school students can aid the College Square students.

Mrs. Bixler said about her favorite part of Day of Giving: “Despite the fact that it’s so much work, I love the thought of helping so many people. I think it’s really important to help students realize that they are part of a larger community and are obligated to help.”