For 20 years, math teacher Lauren Murray and her band of elves have made holidays especially merry around Manchester High School. Each of those years, families connected to the school have received gifts and food to brighten what would otherwise be a bleak winter break.
This year, Manchester High’s Angel Tree Project is helping about 60 children in 27 families.
“L4L,” Murray says. That stands for Lancers for Life and represents the strong community connecting Manchester High teachers, staff, students, families and alumni.
Planning starts in the fall, with teachers suggesting families who may be struggling. The school reaches out to ask if they would like gifts for their children and food to restock their pantries. Families provide details about what their children like, their clothing sizes and their wish list.
Then Manchester High goes to work to fulfill those wishes. Among those pitching in to provide gifts, clothing, food and gift cards are the senior class, teachers and staff members, student clubs like DECA and FCCLA, teachers, families, retirees and many more Lancers for Life. Thanks to a local business, every Angel also gets a brand-new pair of shoes chosen especially for them.
Murray’s classroom gradually fills to overflowing and starts to look a lot like the North Pole as volunteers wrap the presents. Angel Tree gifts each year include bikes, Nintendo switches, iPads, basketballs, Beats headphones and other items sure to spark joy. There have been some unusual gift requests across the years too. A kayak. Amtrak and plane tickets. A mannequin head for practicing cosmetology. Furnishings for an entire home.
The program also surprises 100 Manchester High students each year with spirit stockings filled with candy, snacks and tiny treasures.
Murray is the driving force behind the Angel Tree Project, but she is quick to credit the entire school community for making a difference for two decades. She’s thankful that now-retired Principal Pete Koste supported her proposal in 2004 and still helps out each year.
“And I couldn’t take this on without my family’s support,” she says: husband and Manchester High adaptive PE teacher Tom Murray; daughter Olivia Murray (2020 graduate of Spanish Immersion Specialty Center at Manchester High); and son Ren Murray (2022 graduate of Governor’s Academy for Engineering Studies at Bird High).
Click here to see more photos of Manchester High’s Angel Tree Program spreading joy across the years.