Eagle Hill students host toiletry drive for local families

A group of Fayetteville-Manlius School District middle school students recently spent time collecting, sorting and donating personal care items to help local families who are facing hardships.

Upon learning that Syracuse, NY is among the poorest cities in the United States, members of Eagle Hill Middle School’s PRIDE Club decided to organize a toiletry drive to help provide basic necessities to some of their peers at Frazer Pre-K-8 School, which is part of the Syracuse City School District.

In December, Frazer school social worker Kristen Moses visited Eagle Hill to speak with PRIDE Club members about the basic care items Frazer students need, and how financial challenges and other hardship situations prevent the teens from receiving them.

The club, which focuses on community service and relationship-building initiatives and includes students in grades five through eight, decided to host a toiletry drive just before the holidays. With the support of the Eagle Hill school community, PRIDE club members in one weeks’ time collected more than 150 personal hygiene products – like toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant and more – for their Syracuse peers.

Eagle Hill educator Melanie Bauder advises PRIDE Club, which meets once a week during the school’s enrichment period.