Stevenson High School students rally to brighten the holidays for Lake County families

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. - Some north suburban high school students had a very busy November collecting holiday gifts for charity.

They said they got the payoff on Wednesday when they loaded thousands of gifts onto a truck to be delivered to families who need them.

It's a 37-year tradition at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire for their annual holiday Give-A-Thon.

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The event helps brighten the holiday for families in Lake County.

Some 500 National Honor Society students took part by first helping to raise money for a giant shopping spree. They check off lists made by families by buying bicycles, toys, food and other necessities like diapers.

"It's so rewarding my goodness because we've been working for the past two months," said honor student Jaden Varghese. "It's been a lot of work with logistics and trying to get the new space, especially with Covid restrictions. But we're really happy that we were able to raise enough for all of these families."

Stevenson Teacher Courtney Zabrin, the Community Service Coordinator, called the student effort "ginormous".

"They are really, really proud of all they're able to accomplish. Obviously it feels good dropping off a huge pile of gifts," Zabrin said. "This is one of the biggest years that we've ever had. We actually ended up supporting over 400 families."

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"Every year it's been so rewarding being able to give. I just fell in love with it," said senior Janhavi Joshi. "Hopefully maybe I can start something like this in college or just try to give back in some other kind of way."

Organizers say the Give-A-Thon has grown into one of the largest charitable events in Lake County during the holidays, a point of pride for the students who take part.