Thanks to a herculean effort by volunteer drivers and Gladstone High School students in the National Honor Society, we delivered boxes of food and toys to more families than ever, just in time for the holidays. Over 60 families this year benefited from our Adopt-A-Family program, which receives crucial support from organizations across Gladstone.
Partners include GSD school counselors, Clackamas Fire, Gladstone City Hall, Gladstone Police, Clackamas Bookshelf, Gladstone Oak Lodge Rotary, Kiwanis Club and the Sunshine Division.
GHS students did a wonderful job sorting through donations and figuring out which families needed certain toys, based on the ages and interests of each family's children. Community members throughout November placed donations in labeled bins at Gladstone Civic Center, Gladstone Community Center, Gladstones Bar & Grill, Somerset Lodge and Coasters Brew Pub, and at the front of each of our four schools. Gladstone Schools Nutrition Services Manager David "Chef Dave" Bitner baked cookies for the grade level at each school that collected the most donations.