Press release from Washington Township Public Schools
Birches Elementary School gathered in the school’s all-purpose room on Tuesday, Dec. 18, to stuff stockings and make cards for the school’s ‘Stockings for Soldiers’ drive. The program benefits active soldiers, as well as veterans, and is sponsored locally by Egizi Funeral Home. Washington Township veterans Bill Braker and board of education vice president Bob Abbott were on hand on Tuesday to watch the students stuff the stockings and then accept the donations.
The drive was organized at Bells by fifth-grade teacher Mary Byatt. With long tables covered in donated items lined up across the floor, Byatt explained the process for filling the stockings. Students then colored a card that included a birch tree that thanked the soldiers for their service before heading up to stuff a stocking.