Community Christmas Card To Help Rogers Students

By Caleb Fort

Posted: November 26, 2009 at 4:58 a.m.

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ROGERS — Some experts may have declared the recession over, but there’s still plenty of need in Rogers schools.

“It seems much greater this year,” said Linda Haley, who oversees counseling for the Rogers School District. “We’re feeling the ripple of the recession.”

Readers can help meet students’ needs by donating to the Community Christmas Card.

“The Community Christmas Card has always been a special project for us,” said Tom Stallbaumer, publisher of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers . “I think most of us have a special place in our hearts for children, and this program is designed to help those children who may need a little extra assistance.”

Money from the program is useful because it is more flexible than other grants and federal programs, Haley said. For example, there are programs to help homeless students, but there are fewer resources for students on the verge of homelessness, she said.

Money from the Community Christmas Card can help those students get clothes and school supplies, she said.

Three components contribute to the problems this year, Haley said: There are more needy students, their needs are greater than in past years and aid agencies are overwhelmed.

Those phenomena aren’t isolated to schools.

Money from the Community Christmas Card is often spent on special student needs, such as art supplies, a protractor or athletic equipment, Haley said.

The district tries to take care of every need, Haley said, but she anticipated that more of the money this year will be spent on basic needs such as clothing.

School counselors help identify uses for the money, Haley said. They focus on meeting a specific need without creating dependency, she said.

The school once used the money to pay for a shopping trip for a student whose home burned, said Patsy Roycroft, social worker supervisor for the district.

All of the money donated to the program goes directly to helping students.

How To Give

Beginning today, individuals wishing to donate to the Community Christmas Card may mail or deliver donations to any Northwest Arkansas Newspapers office, including both daily and weekly newspapers. Donors can designate which local school district receives the donation. Individuals can also mail donations to: Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, c/o Community Christmas Card, P.O. Box 1607, Fayetteville, AR 72702

Donations will be collected until noon Dec. 23. The minimum suggested donation is $2. The names of individuals donating $2 or more will be printed in a full-page Christmas card published in the Dec. 25 edition of the Rogers Morning News. Individuals may also make donations on behalf of someone else.

Donations to the Community Christmas Card are tax-deductible as a result of a partnership between Northwest Arkansas Newspapers and NWA Community Foundation.

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