'Tis the season for giving and third graders at Somers Intermediate School are working to brighten the holidays for many groups in our community.

The Third Grade Holiday Give Back is in full swing and classes are putting the final touches on wrapping items they have collected to donate to a local preschool, the Ronald McDonald House, Incredible Pet Rescue and the Putnam Humane Society.

One group of third graders collected enough money to purchase books and pajamas for boys and girls in a local preschool. “Every night I can read a nice book in my pajamas and I know that there are some kids who don’t have that,” said student Ryan Sabanosh. “I feel happy doing this for those kids.”

“I feel really good about helping someone out when they need something more than I do,” said student Ann Dugmore. She and her classmates were excited to decorate the packages for the preschool kids. Emma Curry added that she thinks the kids will be happy to get a new pair of pajamas and a book.

Down the hall, another class is readying its donations to the Ronald McDonald House. “We collected food, snacks, and cleaning supplies for the families there,” said Nicholas Chiappetta. Charlotte Salmon said she thinks the donations will help the families and kids there. “They are there for a while, and it’s free to stay but the kids are sick, and these things might make it easier for them,” she said.

The Third Grade Give Back has been a staple at SIS for several years to help the community but also as a way to reinforce to the students the importance of giving to others.

“This is all about teaching our students that there are people out there who are less fortunate who need our help,” said teacher Joanne Makar whose class is donating pajamas and a book for a local preschool. “After the holidays when we get a thank you from them, the students get to see how they positively impacted them.”

Teacher Carmela Harris agreed. “This is a really tangible project for them to see where the help they are offering goes,” she said.