32nd Annual ‘Christmas on the Hill’

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – ‘Tis the season for generosity and joy.

Bishop Rosecrans High School held its 32nd annual ‘Christmas on the Hill,’ which instills the virtue of generosity into the students as they share the Christmas spirit with families who may be struggling to provide. 

“Well so many times you look around, there’s so many unfortunate people and we just wanted, you know, to get involved,” Bishop Rosecrans High School Basketball Coach Todd Rock said. “And our players and our cheerleaders, they’re the ones who sponsor it, our ex-players and cheerleaders and Mr. Harris… There’s 2-or-3 other people who step up. And we’ve raised over $400,000 dollars for this program in my 32 years. It’s so important to see my kids give back and so many of my players will have tears in their eyes. And they’ll give their Christmas up to buy more stuff for that they’re involved in.”

Laborers Local 530 Business Manager Phil Harris hosted a local golf outing earlier in the year, which generated $5,500 dollars to become the largest contributor for this year’s ‘Christmas on the Hill’. 

“It’s pretty simple,” Harris said. “Todd reached out to us a few years back and asked for a donation, which we’re always willing to help out the community. We do a lot of social… giving, I guess you could say. And it’s really cool to see the smiles on the kids’ faces and even the players you know, they enjoy it as much as the kids are. So, it’s a really good event.”

Rock added that the school holds a couple of fundraising events that also support the event and that no one is sure who benefits the most from ‘Christmas on the Hill,’ the families who have been chosen or the students who are providing for them.

The ‘Christmas on the Hill’ is one of several student involvement programs that Rosecrans High School conducts throughout the year, which offers students a greater perspective of how they can contribute in making their community a better place to live.