News

For students and families of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS), their Thanksgiving holiday is going to be filled with a lot of “swag” – courtesy of the generosity of SIUE and community donors. 

For three hours on the blustery afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 19, CHS faculty and staff, and SIUE School of Education, Health and Human Behavior (SEHHB) faculty members passed out “Holiday Swag Boxes” to more than 100 vehicles who drove onto the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus. 

Students and families were met by a welcoming crew who scurried to place numerous goodies into their vehicles. Each swag box cost approximately $200 and included such items as turkeys, pizza, gift cards, school supplies and more. 

“This is awesome. It helps out a lot for those of us who are not able to go to the store like we need to,” said Tamarah Baker, who drove up with her son Jiamaal McGuire, CHS junior. “The turkey will make the table look awesome, and I will put the gift card to use in purchasing everything else to go with the turkey.” 

“Since we couldn’t serve our Charter High School students a traditional Thanksgiving meal like we have in years past, we decided to provide a Thanksgiving meal for each of our students,” said CHS Director Gina Jeffries, EdD. “We knew it was going to be a bit of an undertaking, but we were up to the task!” 

The CHS 2020 Angel Tree giving campaign to benefit students was an exceptional success – raising the most in its history – with a collection of almost $16,000 as of Wednesday, Nov. 18.  The campaign is approximately $7,000 short of meeting its goal of $23,000, but there is still time to donate. 

“We have been blown away by the generosity and outpouring of love the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School received from our SIUE family and local community,” Jeffries enthused. “We don’t mind being out here in all of this wind today. We are excited to see our students and families, and show them our love and support.” 

“We needed a lot more donations this year due to the pandemic, because people are struggling and going through a lot more economically,” said CHS Interim Assistant Director Pamela Saffore. “We wanted to provide more, which meant we needed to raise more money, and that is what we did!” 

“I have been humbled by people’s generosity, especially during a pandemic,” said Anne DeToye, CHS treasurer. “I am so proud of our extended SIUE family and am grateful to be part of SIUE and CHS.” 

“People are more willing to come together and express their concern for others, even with all that’s going on,” said Edith Laktzian, CHS resource teacher. “That’s what Thanksgiving is all about. We know how blessed we are, and we want to be a blessing to someone else.” 

“The Charter High School always give back to the kids,” said Shenita Simmons, mother of CHS sophomore Tyjwaun Reeves. “It is extremely appreciated what they do for us and for the kids.” 

“I’m thankful for life and being able to come up here and get things I need,” reflected Baker. “Charter High School cares about us. They are awesome, and I love them.” 

The entirety of “Holiday Swag Boxes” included:

• One 10-12 lb. turkey
• $100 Schnucks gift card
• One box of pizza
• Assorted school supplies
• One CHS sweatshirt
• One CHS throw blanket
• One CHS beanie hat
• One set of CHS texting gloves
• One CHS pop socket
• One headset
• One cleansing lens
• Earbuds
• Several masks
• Clorox wipes

Photos:
L-R: Nate Williams, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning’s secondary education program and pedagogical, curricular and leadership support at the SIUE East St Louis Charter High School, helps organize a portion of boxes to be given away. Because of the windy day, textbooks were used to keep the lids from blowing away. Liza Cummings, PhD, CHS STEM instructional coordinator, passes out a turkey to a CHS family. 

L-R: Shawn Roundtree, CHS social worker, puts a holiday swag box into the trunk of a car. Edith Laktzian, CHS resource teacher (left) and George Laktzian, CHS math instructor, work pizza detail. 

L-R: CHS Director Gina Jeffries, EdD, shows some love and support to a student and her family member. Wendy Brown, CHS Parent and Teacher Association president, helps orchestrate the massive giveaway.