Spreading Joy

Yesterday, we hosted almost a hundred guests at our annual Gingerbread House Decorating event.  For a school the size of Beech Hill, this is no small undertaking.  The majority of the work was done by the volunteers from The Beech Hill School Parents’ Association.  The number of moving parts in this event however, is so significant that the entire community is needed to pull it off.  On Friday afternoon, the faculty and the students cleaned the school, created decorations, and constructed 45 gingerbread houses in under two hours.

 

Why do we put forth such an effort for this event?  While this event does raise a little money, it is not nearly as lucrative as the time and energy expended to hold the event.  To fully understand the answer to the question, one only needs to see the smiles on the faces of those that participate.  This year’s participants ranged in age from 80 years old to 8 months, and they all expressed such pleasure and gratitude for the opportunity to simply make a house of sweets.

 

As I said to the students on Friday at Community, if they need inspiration or if they need to know why they are working, they need only think of the smile on a child’s face.  Putting forth an effort for the enjoyment of others is the very essence of the holiday season, and helping to make the Gingerbread Decorating event possible is an excellent way to catch the holiday spirit!

 

Thanks to all those that helped create so much joy for others!

The Beech Hill School does not discriminate in its hiring, admissions policies, financial aid policies, educational policies, or the administration of school-related programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, nationality, gender, disability, or ethnic origin. The Beech Hill School is a non-profit 501(c)3 tax-exempt entity.