SLHS Angel 34 club gives back for the holidays

by Christiana Lycette

For the first time, Southern Lehigh’s Angel 34 club received the opportunity to plan the nonprofit’s annual Christmas party for families with children battling cancer.

Angel 34 is a nonprofit organization that supports families with children who have cancer. Southern Lehigh’s students support the organization by giving monthly goodie baskets to the children and helping with exciting planned events for the families to attend. The annual Christmas party allows the families to have a festive and fun day, hopefully taking a break from their troubles.

“The party allows them to enjoy the magic of the season while temporarily distracting them from the difficulties of a cancer diagnosis,” co-advisor Mrs. Lauren Schiffer said.

The party took place at Premise Maid on December 10, 2022. Southern Lehigh’s Angel 34 club set up various festive activities to entertain the children of the families, in addition to a generous $125 to spend at Premise Maid, crafts, and photos with Santa. The families were also presented a charitable $200 to eat at a restaurant after they left the event, along with $400 in gift cards to spend for the holiday season.

“The event was an amazing experience to interact with the children as I had the pleasure to put smiles on these children’s faces,” co-president Sophia Lycette said. “At the end of the day, they are still kids and deserve a fun event.”

The Christmas spirit for the kids doesn’t end there, because most of the families at the event signed up to have student elves from this club deliver Christmas gifts for the kids. First, the Sassy Massey Foundation–a nonprofit that supplies toys to children fighting against cancer–is sending gifts for this club to wrap for each child. The families associated with Angel 34 gave the club a list of interests and toy preferences of their children. Each child’s likes allowed the club to select a gift that hopefully would spread a joyous smile on the child’s face.

“I am excited to hear stories from student volunteer experience [because] the relationship that will be created will be incredibly impactful for the families,” said Mrs. Schiffer.

Even though it was Southern Lehigh’s first time organizing these Christmas events, expectations were high as the club supervisors, and even the organization’s founder believed Southern Lehigh did a fantastic job executing the Christmas Party.

“I am really proud and happy how the Christmas party turned out this year,” founder Doug Sheriff said. “I am always so impressed with Southern Lehigh students’ initiative to help Angel 34 and their community in general. I have no doubts that the students will do nothing less than great when delivering presents to the kids’ homes on Christmas Eve.”

With around 120 students involved in this school club, the spirit appears lively to help the kids. This whole-hearted group created a party that gave these families an escape from the heartbreak of cancer, at least for a couple of hours. These strong kids have no choice but to fight their diseases. Therefore, Southern Lehigh students’ ability to help instill a smile on a child’s face and support them will truly make a difference.

“This organization really allows students to give back,” said co-advisor Mr. Troy Ruch, “not just by raising money, but with the time and experience of interacting with the kids.”

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