The Honors College Assembly is sponsoring the Holiday Tree Project that will provide close to 200 presents for local children this December.

Students can come by the Honors College reception area in Nott Hall to pull a wish ornament from the Holiday tree, purchase the requested item, wrap it, and return it to the office. Donations will be accepted until Monday, Dec. 3.

Kylie Donnelly, coordinator of the holiday tree project, said the purpose of the project is to help low income families.

Students who are involved with the Freshman Year Experience are doing a great deal of the work with the project as well.

The HCA is making efforts to provide the needs and wants of children across the area and to help those who may be battling poverty in the Tuscaloosa community.

According to a Tuscaloosa News report, nearly 24 percent of Alabama’s children live in poverty.

The article also states that four other states have a higher rate of child poverty: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico. Mississippi had the highest child poverty rate in the nation at 29 percent.

“We talked to the counselors at the selected schools, and they identified families in need,” Donnelly said. “The parents then identified to the counselor something that the child needed and the child was able to request something that they wanted.”

Some of the requests of parents have been thinking varying from socks, shirts and other basic necessities.

“The children have said they wanted toys such as dolls and footballs,” she said.

HCA President Hallie Paul said she was pleased with the success of the project last year and hopes they can make it even better this year. She said the coordinators of the event have done an incredible job of putting the details together.

The tags on the holiday tree can be found in Nott Hall, and they include what the child needs, their age and gender. The toys will be delivered to the schools before the end of the semester.

Donnelly said she encourages UA students to get involved in these efforts and that they do have tags left.

“This is a really great way for students to get involved in their community that is not really time consuming and can make a big difference in a child’s life,” she said.

She said this is a wonderful time of year to get excited and go buy a toy for a child in need, and it is also a way to encourage community.

The project was coordinated last year by Kathryn Merritt of the Honors College, but the HCA took on these efforts this year.

There has been a working relationship with Matthew, Maxwell, and Holt Elementary schools and UA on various levels such as mentoring and donation projects.

“I hope all honors students will take advantage of this opportunity to reach beyond our campus bubble and to make the holidays a little brighter for kids in Tuscaloosa,” Paul said.