On Wednesday, with the warmth of the holidays surrounding them and the excitement of another school day completed, 83 kids from Grinnell Elementary School came together with thoughts of toys and gift-wrapping. But the joy wasn't coming from presents received, but from the thought of giving to other kids less fortunate than themselves.
In a room that quickly became busier than a department store the week before Christmas, the Grinnell Kids Care Club spent the afternoon wrapping their "friendship boxes" -- shoeboxes filled with presents, from toys to crayons to Harry Potter merchandise.
The gifts will later be distributed to Emily's Place -- the YWCA Crisis Service Center, and to the Salvation Army in Manchester.
First-grade teacher MaryEllen Stella, facilitator of the club, said the kids brought in their own shoeboxes and chose their own gifts, paid for out of their own pockets.
Helping with the wrapping session were 20 parent volunteers and students from Pinkerton Academy's Future business Leaders of America.
The Kids Care Club is an initiative of the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network out of Washington, D.C. There are more than 800 registered clubs in the country.
The students in Grinnell's club have been giving to the community for the past six years. Recently, WalMart donated $500 to the club, some of which went to the wrapping the kids were using on Wednesday.
Bob Champagne from the Salvation Army in Manchester came to speak to the kids about what the group does and how their efforts help the lives of those in need.
He explained their "Christmas kettle campaign" which lasts from the week before Christmas right up to December 4, and told the students how the money goes to families in need of food, clothing and rent.
He also explained their Toy Shop program, which Grinnell is having a school wide collection for.
In the program, the Salvation Army sets up a giant Toys 'R Us on Dec. 19 where 150 to 175 families go in every hour and pick three gifts per child.
Champagne told the club members how he used to receive gifts from the Salvation Army when he was growing in Allenstown, Penn., and how much it meant to him then and now.
"I get to see the smiles on the kids faces when they receive their food and toys. When you see a family crying because they're so happy and thanking you, It makes your day," he said.
Manic in the holiday spirit, the little volunteers proved that giving is more fun than receiving as every member of the group worked diligently to complete their gifts.
Caption: Grinnell School second-grader Tyrus Segreti, 7, cuts wrapping paper under the watchful eye of Pinkerton Academy junior, Lauri Lannan, 16. The two were wrapping boxes of toys and games for Kids Care Club, which was donating the packages to Emily's Place and the Salvation Army. Lannan is a volunteer with the Future Business Leaders of America Club at Pinkerton Academy.