Love. Kindness. Joy. Generosity. Four words come to mind when reminiscing about Chieftain Charity week.

For this whole week of November, here at the U students had the option to donate to a variety of baskets, the funds going to the Humane Society of Macomb.

MSU, U of M, UHS, gift card variety, movie theme, dog and cat, and mystery were the themes of each basket.

The popularity contest between the baskets had the gift card at the top, the UHS themed #2, and sitting last surprisingly the MSU and U of M.

A few of the winners are sophomore Zachary Blake, junior Mya Harmon, teacher Yvonne Swanson and teacher Stacy Smale.

Some student council members had other ideas for basket themes.

“A general sports basket would’ve been good,” sophomore Jordan Jones said, “A vote for favorite sports teams and then making a basket based on that.”

“I liked the gift card basket,” sophomore Gabby Boskovich said. “I would’ve wanted an outdoorsy basket, not just a basket with sports clothing.”

Some students don’t think the baskets got enough attention. “I don’t think it was promoted enough,” Boskovich said. “More signs in the hallways and just more hype around it.”

A majority of students liked the gift card basket and thought it was cool, giving it the number one spot in which basket was the most popular.

“I don’t think we could’ve done better,” Jones said. “There were a lot more participants than I expected, it just needed more publicizing.”

A lot more charitable acts are still being done even past the Charity Week at UHS by both Key Club and Student Council.

Ongoing from Nov. 29 to Dec. 10 is Key Club’s annual Canned Food Drive, and Student Council’s Toys for Tots going from November 29 to December 8.

The UHS Tribe makes great strides giving whatever they can to these charities in need.

These charitable acts done by the Chieftains working hard in Key Club and Student Council keep the Chieftain spirit standing tall and proud.

The majority of students love to do good deeds for the people in need and keep the spirit alive.

The student body at Utica keeps these charities staying successful with all of the money donated and students are the main factor.

“It’s going great,” Key Club sponsor Paula Ballard said. “The generosity and service driven students make Utica High and Key Club worth every penny.”

What makes this school what it is is the communities’ hearts coming together.

“Utica’s long-standing concern for others within their community is the heartbeat of the school,” Ballard said. The true meaning behind the canned food drive is more than just the money.

“What I’d love to see,” Ballard said, “is for every student to bring canned food items to share around. Every family should feel blessed at this time of year, and be joyful–have fun–spend time with loved ones.”