Shopping carts overflowing with orange bags, each filled with $42 worth of off-the-rack winter fashions, rolled through the aisles of Foreman Mills in Whitehall, pushed by 17 students from Carbon County Technical Institute's Marketing class, adult volunteers, and Bill Allison and Bob Stevenson, coordinators of the Jim Thorpe Rotary Club's Christmas Present Project.

"This is the twelfth year we've shopped for the Christmas Present Project," Stevenson said. "We raised about $5,500 from our Rotary fundraisers, Mauch Chunk Trust, and from several anonymous angels who give us donations."Through guidance counselors at the Jim Thorpe area schools, 136 kids from 32 families were selected to receive new seasonal clothing as a Christmas gift from the Jim Thorpe Rotary and its supporters."We arranged to shop for the clothing on a single day, Monday, Dec. 12, at Foreman Mills and they agreed to give us a 10 percent discount," Stevenson continued. "We like the store because there are a lot of choices of clothing to work from."Rotary Clubs focus on community service, with each club free to select programs for its community. Twelve years ago, Ralph and Jeanette Richards created the program."Jeanette was our school nurse at the time," CCTI Marketing instructor Stephanie Barto explained. "She and her husband were members of the Rotary. The Rotary started this program. They needed bodies to shop. She suggested this project for the Marketing students. It started with 50 kids and has been as high as 150 kids.""It's a great hands-on activity for my marketing students," Barto continued. "They get a budget and try to buy as much as they can for each child."Each member of her class, as well as all the other volunteer shoppers, were asked to shop for several students. They were given a list that did not contain the student's name. Instead, a code designation was used, but included the child or student's gender, age, size and the clothing items needed.The Rotary/CCTI team arrived on Monday morning as the store opened at 9 a.m. They shopped until about 12:30 p.m. After being thanked by Stevenson, they were advised that they were helping kids who are experiencing hard times and need things, and to keep in mind the age group - from toddlers to teen agers - and to watch the dollars while finding things that kids of that age group will wear.Besides using the experience as community service, Barto's Marketing students, a mix of ninth to twelfth graders, were to be evaluated and receive a grade on their performance."The grade will be based on meeting specifications, the dollar amount, the type of clothing selected, and any alternatives or substitutions. This store is almost overwhelming as a warehouse outlet," Barto explained."The goal is maximizing your dollar as a consumer and retailer. It's a good lesson in this economy. They need to use math to calculate sales and discounts. We will discuss convenience, price points, and quality. What were difficulties? What was the store missing? What items were easy to find? What weren't?""I love volunteering," noted CCTI student Jalissa Kuehner. "We help children in need and help families and kids who don't have money for Christmas. We give them little something extra to put under the tree."Melissa Rivera agreed."We are picking out clothing and seeing what is going to fit them. That way they can have presents under their Christmas tree," she said.Austin Papay noted, "We are here to help kids. I feel pretty nice about doing something for kids whose parents can't buy them stuff. That's sad during the holidays.""This is great for kids that are underprivileged, said Jess Kohutka. "This is going to help make their Christmas good.""It's fun and good experience to help kids who don't have much," Megan Roseman said. "It improves skills on finding sales and getting more for your money.""I like helping people," said Brandon Poole. "I plan to go into business administration. I like to use my skills to help people.""It's a fun experience," added Carole Biegley. "I like how we find what's cheap and get our money's worth of clothing and stay in budget.""This year is special to me because I am a new Rotary board member," said Bill Allison. "It's a wonderful unity between a volunteer organization like the Rotary Club and the school district."On Tuesday, the Rotary Christmas Present Project wraps gifts with the Jim Thorpe National Honor Society.