By Janet Enquist, The Porterville Recorder

Several high school students stood around a classroom table, their fingers busily wrapping, cutting and tying bows. All together they wrapped about 250 Christmas presents for children in need from local schools. "We faxed (a letter) to every school in Porterville (district) and other schools outside of the district," said Sarah Rector, 16, a member of Porterville High School's student council. "We put stars on the wall and high school students and teachers picked one up." After choosing a star, the student or teacher bought a gift for the child whose name, age and requested gift was listed on the bright yellow construction paper star.

"It makes me feel good that we had this much success," Rector said. "That we had this many presents we can give out."

Student council members spent their two-hour final period wrapping donated gifts that will be distributed to the students today.

This has been an ongoing tradition for the student council class, said Dave Johnson, the student council adviser. The class has done the Adopt a Star and canned food drive for more than five years.

"They really get into the idea of giving especially when they can identify with (say) an 8-year-old girl," Johnson said. "A lot of girls usually come in and identify with that. This is the pay it forward idea in which the kids try to catch onto and hopefully, pay it forward to others in the community."

While serving and helping others, students are fulfilling the third school-wide goal in which students are to contribute their time, energy and talents to improve the quality of life at the high school and in Porterville.

"Because they are our future community leaders, if we don't develop leaders with a sense of community now we're going to end up a fragmented community," Johnson said. "With no direction."

Students at the high school also brought in about 2,500 cans of food that were donated Wednesday morning to the Porterville Area Coordinating Council. The cans were stored in the "dungeon" under the drama room.

"It was full," said Lorena Stewart, 16. "It was piled up 3 feet high of cans and dry food items."

Stewart said she likes helping the community.

"It's sad that some people don't have food or gifts and I'm fortunate enough to receive a good meal and food," Stewart said. "Some kids don't have a lot of things I had when I was a kid."

Andres Hernandez, 17, was another student who said it's important to give back to the community.

"It kind of makes me feel bad that I can eat whatever I want to on Christmas Eve," Hernandez said. "When other people are struggling to put food on the table."

Elva Beltran, director of PACC, said that the donations from schools and churches help the coordinating council provide food for the needy. For example, Beltran said she assisted one woman on Wednesday who is a widow and mother of three children. The woman receives survivor benefits, which is more money than she would receive on welfare, Beltran said, but after the woman paid her rent, utilities and needs for the home, she had no money left for food.

After receiving the food, Beltran said the woman had tears in her eyes.

"She makes good money," Beltran said. "But it wasn't enough. Times are hard."

This story was published in The Porterville Recorder on December 16, 2004