• Cleaning Up in the Aftermath of Hurricane Ike
• Lifting Holiday Spirits
• An Appetite for Giving

When Texas college students witnessed the damage from Hurricane Ike hitting Galveston Island in October, they took action.

At a fire station, the advanced technology SkillsUSA chapter at Texas State Technical College in Waco cleaned up debris, then set up a computer donated by the college. According to advisor Walton Yantis, donations from the Waco community included gloves and face masks from Tractor Supply Co., boots from the U.S. Army and Sears, and shovels and wheelbarrows from Lowe’s.

SkillsUSA chapter president Chris Atkins and David Shepherd, vice president, delivered gifts to the Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home in Ruston. They were assisted by Jayda Spillers, Bossier Parish Technical School’s administrative assistant. The Shreveport, La., SkillsUSA students organized the Angel Tree Wish List project to provide gifts for the orphans to open. Besides toys and games, the students also contributed refurbished computers.

In Indiana, Blue River Career Programs’ SkillsUSA chapter collected almost a ton of food — three-fourths, to be exact — in a recent drive to benefit the Salvation Army. Showing a small part of it are afternoon class officers (photo, left to right) reporter Tiffany Robbins, secretary Jacob Carlton, vice president Josh Nelson and president Kalen Karens.

The Shelbyville chapter organized the schoolwide drive. Students in Ray Schebler’s cooperative education class earned a pizza party for bringing in the most food.