The spirit of giving is alive and well in Catasauqua Area School District.

Each year, Sheckler Elementary School holds a faculty-run Giving Tree project.

According to Sheckler Elementary Principal Eric Dauberman, administration and staff identify a number of families that may need extra assistance around the holidays. Usually, teachers pick a name and buy presents for that family. Families would come to the office to pick them up.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, things are a little different this year - but not the need in the community. Dauberman reported they changed the procedure for the Giving Tree for 2020.

Staff members donated money to the project this year. Once the funds were collected, retired Sheckler teacher and active community member Bill Nothstein and his daughter Bethany went shopping for gifts for the students.

Nothstein reported they usually help with the Giving Tree efforts each year through Mrs. Nothstein’s Helping Hands Fund. The fund is a charitable effort, started in memory of Nothstein’s late wife, who also worked at Sheckler and was known for her work helping the students in the district.

“It is very meaningful to do this in honor of everything she did,” he said.

Usually, the Helping Hands Fund buys gifts for any remaining names on the Giving Tree. This year, they were given the teachers’ financial donations and lists of gift ideas to purchase for about 25 students.

According to Nothstein, he and his daughter have made several trips to different stores. He noted, in order to keep everything organized, they often make several trips to the register when visiting stores. This helps them keep things separate for different families. He shared a story about one recent memorable trip to Boscov’s.

According to Nothstein, a man noticed their many trips to the cash register and asked why. Following the explanation, the man wanted to assist and made a $100 donation to their efforts.

“The generosity of people is great,” Nothstein said, noting this is not the first time he has received donations in this way.

The Nothsteins will package the gifts and get everything ready for distribution.

“Once the gifts are purchased, parents will be called to pick them up outside of Sheckler in an effort to adhere to our safety protocols,” Dauberman said.

Dauberman and the staff at Sheckler wanted to make sure this annual tradition continued, despite the pandemic.

“Our staff is very generous and giving every year to help make sure our kids in need have a Christmas, ” Dauberman said.

According to Jenna Dumansky-Potak, school resource officer, Catasauqua Police Department partnered with CASD and Catasauqua Community Cares Program (C3P) to do additional Giving Tree work.

“This was due to the pandemic and feeling that everyone needed a little extra this year,” she said.

The school district and police department identified students to be part of the program. Dumansky-Potak noted they researched if the students have siblings, including younger children not yet school aged. They wanted to include the entire family.

Since the Sheckler Giving Tree program focuses on the students in the school, any siblings of those students are added to the district/police department’s list.

Dumansky-Potak noted they had a list of 108 children within the district, including students and younger siblings.

This Giving Tree program assigns each child a tag number, which is then given to a sponsor, along with a list of items ranging from $5 to $15. The sponsor then purchases a gift or gifts, wraps them and marks them with the tag number. The tags allow the students and families to remain anonymous.

Lois Reed, CASD business supervisor and C3P coordinator, and community member Melanie Doll reached out to the families to get a list of items the children would like for Christmas.

Gifts were to be dropped off at the police station by Dec. 14. Families were to pick up gifts Dec. 18 and 19.

“Due to the pandemic, the gifts will be distributed outdoors, and social distancing and face masks will be mandatory,” Dumansky-Potak said.

She noted the program has received an “overwhelming amount of support” from residents and businesses within Catasauqua and North Catasauqua boroughs and surrounding communities.

According to Reed, they hoped to reach about 35 students in two weeks, but with the help of the community, they were able to reach much more.

“We are looking to keep the Giving Tree going for future years, and with great success in 2020, we hope to expand the number of children we are able to assist,” Dumansky-Potak said.

She noted they also work with C3P to collect and distribute food to approximately 100 students in the community weekly. Students will be given a holiday food box to carry them through the holiday season. The C3P group also recently held a winter coat drive for district students.

Dumansky-Potak recognized the efforts of fellow SRO Pat Best; CASD community liaison Leslie Estrada; C3P; district administration; and members of the Catasauqua and North Catasauqua police departments.

“We want this to be a united front and show the community that we are partnered together, and together the community can make anything possible,” Dumansky-Potak said.