Leading with Kindness: Pinckney Students Inspire Holiday Giving Through Operation Christmas Wishes

At Pinckney Community High School (PCHS), kindness isn’t just something we talk about — it’s something our students live out every day. This holiday season, our Leadership and LINK Crew class is coming together to make a difference through a special project called Operation Christmas Wishes, in partnership with the Yoga Strong Foundation.

Kindness and Leadership in Action

Through Operation Christmas Wishes, our students are adopting the Ford Early Learning Center and Beatty Early Learning Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan — combined these two schools serving approximately 375 children between the ages of 3 and 7. Many of these families face financial challenges, and our goal is to help ensure every child feels seen, supported, and celebrated this holiday season.

Each child will receive a warm winter hat, cozy gloves, and a special toy.

To make this possible, our students set an ambitious goal of raising $11,250 (that’s $30 per child) to cover all the gifts.

These young children deserve to experience joy during the holidays, and together, we can make a real difference in their lives.

Our LINK Crew and Leadership students are leading the charge, demonstrating the power of two specific character strengths — kindness and leadership. We are proud of them for exceeding their goal, and are excited to keep the momentum going. Our class has organized and executed all of the following fundraisers:

• Sold cider/donuts at a PCHS varsity football game
• Did a dash for cash fundraiser at a PCHS varsity football game
• Sold Halloween candy grams with a sucker at lunch
• Organized a parents’ night out babysitting event for the community
• Partnered with a local business, Nauti Mi, to host a shop and dine to donate night
• Encouraged our family and friends to donate via our online Zeffy link

A Partner in Positivity

As a P2 Partner School, we focus on developing the 24 character strengths that help students build positive relationships and strong communities. This initiative is a perfect example of those lessons in action — students taking what they’ve learned about kindness, gratitude, and leadership, and using it to make a real-world impact.
We’re thankful for The Positivity Project for recognizing and supporting our students’ efforts, and for helping us amplify the spirit of kindness driving this project.

Keep the Kindness Going

We invite our community, families, and friends to join us in spreading holiday joy. Every donation, big or small, helps us reach more children and share a little more light this season.

Donate to Operation Christmas Wishes

Together, we can make sure every child at Ford and Betty Early Learning Centers feels the warmth of kindness this holiday season.

Closing Reflection

At Pinckney Community Schools, we believe that leadership starts with compassion. When students step forward to serve others, they not only change the lives of those they help, but they also grow into stronger, more empathetic leaders themselves.

This holiday season, we’re proud of our students for showing what kindness looks like in action — and for reminding us all that when we give from the heart, we make the world a brighter place. Thank you to everyone who donated to make this special project a possibility.