Holiday Festival is a tradition every year at Ramapo High School. Many students at Ramapo sign up to take part in this extraordinary event. Each volunteer is assigned a child from Roberto Clemente Elementary School located in Paterson, New Jersey. These underprivileged kids are treated to a fun day that is completely focused on them. High school students purchase gifts for their child to go along with many of the other presents they receive throughout the day. During their stay at Ramapo, the children will see a play put on by the Gold Masque club, given lunch, and spend the rest of the day with their Ramapo escort. Throughout the day, the kids will open their presents, jump in the bouncy house, make arts and crafts, pick out books, socks, gloves, stuffed animals, and much more. The day is completely focused around them, and the children are free to do whatever they enjoy!

The joy that comes from these kids is contagious. The smiles on their faces make the escorts feel unbelievably good about doing something for these kids. For some, it’s simply a way to get out of class. For others, however, it’s a way to make a difference in such a fun and exciting way. As escorts, we are there to supervise, and make the child’s day special. However, there is simply nothing better than when they look into your eyes, smile and say, “This is the best day ever!”. To be able to give them a day to just be a kid and have fun, is a feeling like no other. Knowing that you made them smile and saw their eyes light up, is something that is simply indescribable.
More and more schools around the country should participate in events like these. Planning demands a lot of manpower, volunteer work, and planning to get the job done, but in the end, it is completely worth it. As Erich Fromm, a credited German social psychologist, once said, “Giving is the highest expression of potency. In the very act of giving, I experience my strength, my wealth, my power. This experience of heightened vitality and potency fills me with joy. I experience myself as overflowing, spending, alive, hence as joyous. Giving is more joyous than receiving, not because it is a deprivation, but because in the act of giving lies the expression of my aliveness”. There is simply nothing better than giving back. Both sides benefit from Holiday Festival; leaving the givers glowing, and the children ecstatic. During the holiday season, it is always hoped that one can spread joy to others and make their days bright and merry as well. The feeling is simply indescribable, and I hope that many others will have the amazing opportunity that I had to make a difference.