Paducah Middle seventh grader Meg Hancock shares a blanket at Parkview Nursing Home.

What is the spirit of Christmas about? For a group of Paducah Middle seventh grade students, the question became real as they considered practical ways they could serve the community during the holidays.

“Typically our class does something fun for Christmas, like going on a field trip to Nashville,” seventh grader Abigail Hawkins explained. “But this year we wanted to do something local to give back to the community instead of just doing something for ourselves.”

The class took the money they would have spent on a field trip and bought supplies to make knotted fleece blankets. On December 15, they walked to Parkview Nursing Home, where they shared twenty fleece blankets with residents, sang Christmas carols, and did a reading of “The Night before Christmas”.

While there was some sacrifice involved, the class seemed happy to have made the trade as they introduced themselves to residents, sang songs, and laughed together.

“I like doing this better than a field trip,” seventh grader Andrew Shannon said. “Sometimes you can make somebody’s day just by doing something like this, so it’s worth it.”