Round Rock High School’s Student Council hosted its third annual Spirit of Giving Gathering this week, bringing together students, staff, and community partners to support families during the holiday season.
This annual event serves families from various Round Rock ISD elementary schools, including Deep Wood, Old Town, Bluebonnet, Brushy Creek, and Fern Bluff. This year, the program sponsored 184 students, up from 160 last year, and also provided gifts for siblings of participating students, as well as teenage parents and their babies.
“Counselors are the ones who select the families who would benefit most from the program,” said Victoria Sanders, Round Rock ISD Teacher of the Year, and Student Council sponsor for Round Rock High School. “Then our teachers, clubs, teams, as well as our community partners like Lifetime Fitness North Austin and their members, are responsible for fulfilling all the children's wishlists.”
This community event brings everyone together. Students from the school’s PALS program organized activities such as games, crafts, and karaoke, while AVID students helped transport gifts to families’ cars, and the Round Rock High School Culinary Team offered a coffee bar featuring coffee, hot chocolate, and other breakfast treats.
Student Council Vice President, Samantha Z., a senior at Round Rock High School, said participating in the Spirit of Giving Gathering is something she looks forward to each holiday season.
“It's great receiving gifts during Christmas, but also as a kid, being able to help someone else out and being able to use my time and to serve other people, I think, is really rewarding,” she said. “I think spending my time on something like this and helping out is really meaningful, especially when I see the students and the kids.”
Samantha said seeing the childrens’ joy this holiday season made the hard work worth it.
“I remember vividly that there was a child who got a bike, and it was, like, a little bit big for him, but he was so happy, and he was grinning from ear to ear. He was just so happy! That was one of the highlights of my year,” she said.
This special holiday event is one of several service initiatives led by the Round Rock High School Student Council each year, highlighting the school’s commitment to community engagement and student leadership. Next year, they hope to expand the Spirit of Giving’s reach.
“My goal next year is to challenge our other high schools to start this program with their feeder pattern elementary schools,” Sanders said. “Leveraging student leadership is paramount for a program like this to be successful!”