As we close out the holiday season, one Arlington school is living out the mantra that it’s better to give than to receive. Each year, Imelda Gutierrez, Teacher Aide at Uplift Summit, organizes a campus-wide Angel Tree. Teachers and staff members collectively work together to submit the names of scholars whose families might be in need.

This year, Uplift Summit had over 80 students on the angel tree, a number that has seen an increase due to the effects of the pandemic.

Nominees in grades K-12 were placed on the tree along with their own unique story. Also included were their gift requests, most often being necessities such as food items, hygiene products, clothing, and of course, toys for the younger scholars.

The Uplift Summit community then banded together to adopt angels off the tree. However, the spirit of giving isn’t just limited to the walls of Uplift Summit. Gutierrez compiled an Amazon Wish List so that anyone in the Arlington community could support the cause.

Once adopted, faculty and community members brought in their wrapped or unwrapped gifts for their angels to receive before school closed for winter break.

The spirit of Christmas lives on here in North Texas!