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Holiday season of giving, volunteering and cheer
Mannheim 83
Kim Petrasek, superintendent
It has been said that the local school is the heart of a
community. Mannheim District 83 has shown its heart
with its Project Thanksgiving program that began in
2007. This program provides a full Thanksgiving dinner
for families within the district. All staff members are
invited to donate to the program in order to support and
serve our community. School staff coordinates with a
local grocery store to order a full dinner for families that
includes a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy,
dinner rolls, and a pumpkin pie at a cost of $65 per
dinner. Our local store even participated this year by
donating a dinner. When the collection window has
closed, the total number of families that can be serviced
is calculated and our school social workers identify
families in need who would benefit from the program. A
volunteer team is organized to coordinate the deliveries
on the Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving. This
year Mannheim District 83 staff was able to provide
dinners for 55 families that might otherwise not have
been able to enjoy a traditional holiday dinner. The Mannheim District 83 Project Thanksgiving program
demonstrates how our district works to model our commitment to supporting our community beyond the
walls of our classrooms.
Grayslake 46
Ellen Correll,
superintendent
The shot is looking out of the
District Office building at the
students leaving for winter
break last year. The snow
was slowly falling in big
beautiful flakes, and the
buses were lined up for the
end of the school day
dismissal at Frederick School
with whom the District Office
shares a parking lot. As the
students started filtering out
of the building I just
happened to snap the photo
when the young lady in the
pink jacket exuberantly
spread her arms out either
trying to catch snowflakes or
just in relief at the end of the
school day and beginning of the holiday break. Either way, this photo is one of our community's favorite
photos.