It is with great pleasure that I am sending out this thank you and appreciation note to the greater Bonney Lake citizens, businesses, Sumner School District schools, organizations and families for the most generous giving to our department for this year’s Bonney Lake Giving Tree and Citywide Food Drive.

This is a great community to live and work in, as the community in general has so many “giving” and “caring” people that reside here.  Our programs were so successful only due to the people who go out of their way to donate time, money and gifts to include a wonderful supply of food for our families in need.

Bonney Lake Elementary, Lakeridge Middle School, Bonney Lake High School and Mountain View Middle School’s students and staff did an amazing job collecting foods for our families and Food Bank. Other schools in our district should also be mentioned as they will be doing spring food drives in our area, and have always helped in our programs.  They are Crestwood Elementary and Emerald Hills Elementary.

I would like to make a special thank you to North Tapps Middle School for their participation with collecting 109 shoeboxes for Bonney Lake Giving Tree teens from the ages of 12-18 years of age. This was the idea of student Carson Bohl who had an idea or a wish to help families out for Christmas. So he and his school group, the “Red Peppers” organized many students to work together with their friends and families to create this wonderful gift giving idea for these teens. I am so proud of them to step up and help others their age to be able to have a great holiday. One student, Lauren Churchill, a seventh grade student, used her own money to fill 20 shoeboxes for the drive. The “Red Peppers” club also filled several shoeboxes as a class and all did not take their community service hours, which they were originally going to get one service hour for each box they filled, because they wanted to do it, “because it is just the right thing to do,” they told school staff.

My hope for the many giving people that allowed our programs to succeed and help others, is that I hope they all experienced the wonderful feeling of gift giving and helping others, and that you all had a very happy holiday time sharing with your families and friends! Thank you for opening your hearts to a very wonderful feeling volunteering and helping gives one.

Barb Wigton

Bonney Lake Giving Tree and Citywide Food Drive Coordinator