MOOSEHEART, IL - Carved on the entrance to Mooseheart, the Child City is the phrase: "Enter to learn, leave to serve."
The students in St. Charles East (IL) High School's woodworking program embody those words as well as any visitors who have repeatedly visited the Child City campus.
For the fourth straight year, those students made beautiful handcrafted wooden items, then saw them sold at auction so they could buy Christmas presents for Mooseheart's residents.
"You get involved in the program, and there's so much more than learning how to work with wood," St. Charles East senior Bill Diamond said. "There's working with people. There's a lot more behind it than just the project."
On Thursday (Dec. 20), Diamond and his classmates turned into elves as Santa Claus delivered the toys purchased from the toy auction. And this year, Santa Claus, played by school principal Dr. Robert Miller, needed a larger pack to carry all those toys.
In the fourth year of its relationship with St. Charles East, Mooseheart benefited from an even greater level of money raised at the annual toy auction. This year, the amount raised was $11,500, $3,000 greater than in 2006.
Diamond made a pair of items this year, including a pine-paneled, cedar-lined hope chest. That chest sold for $500. Woodworking teacher Jim McCarthy registered the winning bid for the chest, and then presented it to Diamond's mother, Sharon, as a surprise Christmas present.
"I talked to my wife, and I said I didn't need anything," McCarthy said. "I said that the perfect gift for me would be to give Billy's mom the chest. My Christmas is set. It's done."
The chest is currently empty, but with Bill Diamond planning to enter the Marines following his May graduation, the wood will soon be filled with envelopes from various points around the world.
"When I get home, the letters will be in there," Bill Diamond said.
McCarthy said the letters will go into the chest unopened, but he, Sharon and Bill Diamond will open those letters on Bill's return.
"(McCarthy) is more than like a father figure to me. It's a big bond," Bill Diamond said.
Diamond also made a rocking horse that sold for $225. Making the hope chest became a true labor of love.
"Everything I've ever gotten, I've had to work for," he said. "My parents are divorced and I live with my mom. I've worked hard for everything I've gotten."
Diamond said the experience of handing toys to Mooseheart children far exceed anything he will receive on Dec. 25 when he opens his own gifts.
"It's one of the best feelings in the world," Diamond said. "It's Christmas and it's about giving. Seeing the kids' faces and knowing it's what they want. I'm a people person. I like pleasing people, seeing them happy. This is a life lesson, making them happy."
In addition to toys for all of Mooseheart's elementary school students and Target gift cards for the middle school and high school students, Miller presented Mooseheart Superintendent of Education Gary Urwiler with a check for more than $3,000. That money will be used to purchase needed equipment for the school.
"You may be two towns away, but you are part of our family," Miller told Mooseheart's middle school and high school students.
Mooseheart Child City & School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia, IL, between Illinois Route 31 and Randall Road.
Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.1 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in more than 1,900 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Bermuda. Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.
Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, vocational training and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.
Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.
Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 250 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a branch of Fifth Third Bank.
In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually.
Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.Mooseintl.org and www.Mooseheart.org or call 630-966-2229.
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