As the holiday season quickly approaches, members of the National Honors Society are finding ways to spread cheer to those who need it most.

The club has begun its annual Gift of Love drive to collect presents for less fortunate children and distribute them to families in need. According to Rachel Sobol, senior NHS member, the drive also allows her to appreciate the things in life that are usually overlook.

“I think at this time of the year we take for granted all the wonderful gifts we receive from our families, but some families are more focused on buying food than buying extravagant gifts for the holidays,” Sobol said.

Sobol has been involved in similar organizations for years and says the best part is being able to spend time buying gifts for someone she knows will cherish them. Likewise, Caroline Winiarski, Gift of Love chair, sees the gift drive as more than a simple act of kindness.

“In all honesty, helping others is the best gift of all. It is so rewarding to know that you can make some families have the best Christmas they’ve had in years,” Winiarski said. “My favorite part is getting to see how happy the families will be when we give them the gifts our community and the students bought for them.”

The club has teamed up with the St. Francis de Sales Gift of Love Program where students can pick an ornament off of a tree in the cafeteria during their lunch hours that has the name of a person and the gifts they would like. Students then purchase a present for the person on their ornament, wrap the gift, and then return it to school by December 9.

“Today many of us are focused on having the next best thing, whether it’s a phone or a tv, but if we spend a little time helping to make someone else’s holiday special we may realize that we don’t need all those material things to be happy,” Sobol said. “By sponsoring an individual from this organization, people are able to bring the joy of opening presents to a family who will truly appreciate it. Through Gift of Love, a person’s act of kindness can help spread the holiday spirit.