2004 Holiday Tree Celebration

Holiday Tree Writing Project raises $5,000 for MDA

Mike Jenkins presents representatives from the Muscular Dystrophy Association MDA with a $5,000 check during White Settlement ISD's Holiday Tree Celebration on Dec. 2.

White Settlement ISD students raised $5,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and presented a check to MDA during the district's fourth annual Holiday Tree Celebration.

For the past four years, students have participated in a district wide TAKS initiative, the Holiday Tree Writing Project, in which kids write local businesses asking for donations.

To continue helping kids improve their writing skills and also teach them about helping others, the district broadened the focus of the project by partnering with MDA, which funds research and provides medical equipment, medicine and a variety of other services for patients with 43 different kinds of neuromuscular diseases. (Previously, the donations were used to purchase the trees and decorations for the Holiday Tree Celebration.)

Longtime school board member Mike Jenkins was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), which affects the parts of the nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement and weakens the muscles, more than a year ago.

District officials asked Jenkins how to help he and his family, and he recommended that WSISD sponsor a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Students had an opportunity to meet patients and family members, study the diseases, and hear
from MDA representatives who work with patients. Many schools also sold items such as handmade Christmas ornaments and MDA shamrocks.

To celebrate with the community, the kids made handmade decorations and created more than 60 themed holiday trees—many in honor of local MDA patients—that were lit for the fourth annual Holiday Tree Celebration, an event co-sponsored by the City of White Settlement.