Lis Ruppel
The Thurmont Middle School (TMS) LEOs have been very busy the past couple of months. During October and November, TMS LEOs held a coat drive in conjunction with the Thurmont Lions Club Coat Drive for Make a Difference Day. The LEOs collected multiple bags of coats, which were combined with the other coats collected by Lion Marci Veronie and sent to be dry cleaned. Some of the coats were then distributed to kids and families in the TMS community in need, with the help of TMS Community Outreach Coordinator Kelly Pizza.
For Halloween, the TMS LEOs held a Costume Contest fundraiser. For a small fee, students could wear their costumes to school on Halloween. A contest was held at lunchtime, with judging by the lunch staff. An Amazon gift card was given for the best costume from each grade level. The TMS LEOs voted to use some of the money raised to buy a Thanksgiving dinner for a family in need at TMS.
Teacher Melanie Ware spoke with both Food Lion and Weis. With their generous assistance, she was able to put together baskets with food for Thanksgiving dinner for two families. Kelly Pizza distributed the baskets. In December, the LEOs assisted the Language Arts Department at TMS with its Food Drive by collecting the donated food and loading it into Ms. Ware’s car for delivery to the food bank. They also voted to fund several Christmas dinner baskets the same way they had done for the Thanksgiving baskets.
On the final day of school before the winter break, TMS LEOs held a “Holiday Hat” fundraiser, where students could wear a festive holiday hat to school for a small fee. After school let out, the LEOs met at Thurmont Regional Library for a Holiday Party and Secret Santa gift exchange. TMS LEOs are looking forward to an exciting 2020, filled with fun and service!
