Beaverton is and always has been a school centered around community. This is a commonality found everywhere within Beaverton, especially with the arrival of the holiday season.

Following a long tradition of giving back to the community, Beaverton students and faculty support those in need during the holiday season by donating through programs like the Season of Giving snowflakes and collecting donations in clubs and classrooms for Adopt-a-Family.

Adopt-a-Family is a fundraiser and awareness event allowing families from Vose Elementary and Beaverton to submit forms with their specific needs. The forms are read, and if a family meets the criteria, their forms are sent to various clubs and classes, where students and faculty will donate gifts.

Beaverton senior Ken Cavanaugh helped organize Adopt-a-Family. “Any gifts that you would be happy to receive are generally good options,” he said in regards to what types of gifts students should bring in. 

Additionally, Adopt-a-Family supervisors asked that students take into consideration the specific gifts the families requested.

Many students recall last year’s Adopt-a-Family fundraiser. 

“I know that we did one in Mr.Blok’s class last year and our class collected quite a bit for the family,” said junior Rachel Mackley. 

Mackley also stated that the best part of Adopt-a-Family last year was how personal it was. 

“You knew the first names and ages of the people it was going to and you knew that the things you were giving actually made a difference because they had already expressed their need for them,” she said.

This year Adopt-a-Family represented around thirty families. As in past years, classes and clubs like National Honor Society and Key Club adopted families. Any families not adopted out were adopted by the Beaverton student body through the Season of Giving snowflakes.

The Season of Giving snowflakes are comprised of families not adopted by a specific group. 

“We wanted to still be able to help those families and not just say, ‘Sorry, you weren’t adopted,’ but give people the option to help on a smaller level instead of having to take an entire family,” said activities director Jason Sarmiento. 

For many, the Season of Giving snowflakes was the best option in terms of donating because of their small and personalized nature.

Adopt-a-Family and the Season of Giving may not be part of the long-standing traditions at BHS, but they are most definitely a reflection of its strong community.