Community donations fill TC High holiday shop

Dec. 16—TRAVERSE CITY — Basketballs, sketch books, clothes and backpacks, among other things, lined the tables set up in the activity room at the back of Traverse City High School as volunteers unloaded new donations to add to the spread.

The room, adorned with Christmas decorations, will soon be a shop for the students at TC High to pick up gifts for themselves and others for the holidays.

Cathy O'Connor founded Step Up Northern Michigan in 2016 as a nonprofit that works with local schools to help at-risk youth in the region get their basic needs met. Each year, she and a group of volunteers arrange for donations to be sent to students at TC High around the holidays.

Typically, O'Connor and her fellow volunteers arrange the donations they receive into gift baskets for each student. But this year, they're doing things a little differently.

On Dec. 15, 19 and 20, the back room will open up to TC High students to pick up donated items at the "Santa's Workshop" holiday store that Step Up Northern Michigan is orchestrating.

All the items will be free to the students, but they will be given fake dollars to use to "buy" items to limit the number of gifts they can pick out. The dollars have a photo of Maverick, the school's therapy dog, on them.

TC High is the alternative high school in Traverse City Area Public Schools that offers extra support and resources to its students.

Jennifer Ciolek, who has been the science teacher at Traverse City High School for 19 years, said that it will be nice for students to have a choice in what they get from the donated items this year, so they can feel more of a sense of autonomy. She added that the ability to get other people gifts is important to the students.

Ciolek hopes that the shop gives her students a good feeling as they head into holiday break, she said.

"They feel their community cares about them, and that they're part of the community," Ciolek said.

Some of the students at TC High may not have a traditional Christmas at home, so this opportunity for them to get gifts for themselves and others can be really impactful, said Lance Morgan, TC High principal.

"The response that we've had in prior years is pretty amazing to see," Morgan said.

Both Ciolek and Morgan said that the students and the staff at TC High are always amazed at the generosity of the Traverse City community when it comes to donations and setting up the shop.

Robin Appleford has volunteered with Step Up Northern Michigan for about six years, and she works with the Northwest Food Coalition and does some of the shopping for the food pantries at TC High and Traverse Heights Elementary School. For the holiday shop, Appleford said she particularly loves getting students art supplies that they may not otherwise be able to access.

Appleford said that this kind of volunteer work is pivotal to providing young students with stability and the tools they need to thrive on their own, especially once they graduate from high school or turn 18.

"Teenagers are really vulnerable, especially these guys, this at-risk group," Appleford said. "Not all of them have mentors to help them adult or let them be kids."

Step Up Northern Michigan has six school-based food pantries in the region that operate year round at TC High, Traverse City Central High School, Traverse City West Senior High School, Traverse Heights Elementary School, Greenspire middle and high school and Sunrise Academy in Elk Rapids.

For most schools, Step Up Northern Michigan gives the schools gift cards to Meijer so that they can shop for their students. However, for Traverse City High School and Traverse Heights Elementary School, O'Connor and other volunteers do the shopping for the staff.

Step Up Northern Michigan also has other programming with schools, and they make donations. In the past few years, the organization has bought a therapy dog for TC High and a washing machine and a drying machine for Traverse Heights Elementary School, among other things, O'Connor said.

During the pandemic, Step Up Northern Michigan had to stop some of the programming it did with the schools. Bringing those activities back is one of O'Connor's top priorities, she said.

One program that she just recently re-secured funding for is the after-school program at TC High.

The after-school program previously had tutoring and a fresh meal for the students. Now, O'Connor and other Step Up Northern Michigan volunteers are brainstorming what else they could do with it, like field trips or bringing in professionals to teach students life skills.

Ahead of the donation drive, Step Up Northern Michigan sent out a survey to the students at TC high to see what they wanted or needed this holiday season. Most kids wanted gas cards, hoodie sweatshirts or gift cards. Others wanted the basic essentials: shoes, underwear and socks.

O'Connor also asked in the survey what the kids would like to give to someone for the holidays as a gift.

Some students said they would like to give their parents gifts like gas cards or work apparel, while others said they'd like something for their friends' parents, whom they've been staying with. One student said they didn't know what they would get because they've never been able to buy someone a gift before.

O'Connor teared up while reading the comments. She is especially adamant about helping the students at TC High, because she knows how important it is for young people to graduate from high school, she said.

"We have to care about everyone in our community," O'Connor said. "If they're not successful, we're not successful."