On Friday, the Leo Club went on their annual field trip to The Foundation for the Handicapped in Wayne to help spread the joy of the holiday spirit.

The club left school at the end of the third period and went to pick up Valley, then both schools made their way to the facility by 10:00 am and began sharing the holiday spirit. The club stayed there until noon, singing and caroling for about two hours.

Between the two schools, the club consists of over 40 members. The members of Hills collected about 30 gifts for the handicapped, while Valley only collected four.

The foundation is able to give mentally challenged workers a safe environment to work and socialize. The space employes 30 disabled and 5-6 abled employees. The program provided juice and cookies to the club members. It is also said that Santa made a special appearance …

The President of the club, Nicole Lampariello senior, put together a song list for the club, making sure to exclude music that would offend the employees in any way. Since Lampariello is in the choir, she could not make it to the trip due to a choir field trip happening on the same day.

Member Dan Critchfield, junior, was in charge of the trip, specifically putting together all the music on his phone to play at the event. “It was a really nice experience to see all the workers enjoying themselves, and forgetting their troubles for a while,” said Dan when asked how the trip went.

The foundation “gives them a place where they feel comfortable,” said Mrs. Fishman, the advisor of the club, when asked the benefit of having handicapped work in the facility.

Rewick has said that he invited board members to participate in the program.

All in all, the club was able to give gifts, sing songs, and most importantly allow the workers to feel love and joy before the holidays.