A group of north Jefferson high school students are hard at work to help other children have a brighter Christmas.

The Gardendale High School Student Council is in its 21st year of hosting the Christmas Visions program, where they collect money to provide gifts for area children in need.

“It’s a really good way to give back, not just to our community but to other people too,” said student council president Blake Guinn. “It’s a lot of fun for us. We work hard for it every year. It’s a crazy and stressful time, but it’s the most rewarding part of student council.”

This is Guinn’s third year to help. He said in years past, student council members have stayed at the school until almost midnight to wrap and organize gifts.

The goal for this year is to raise $28,000. The program raises $25-30,000 every year, according to Guinn. He said the students spend an average of $170 on each child.

They will be providing gifts for children in at least a dozen schools in north Jefferson County.

The student council members never have any contact with the children who receive the gifts. Christmas Visions only accepts children who are recommended by their school counselors.

“There’s really a lot of communication between student council and the counselors,’ Guinn said. “We’re never directly involved with the kids.”

After student council members receive the names of children, they organize a massive shopping trip at Walmart to purchase the gifts. Guinn said it usually takes three days to buy all of the gifts.

Each child provides a “needs” list and a “wants” list.

“We buy their needs and then their wants,” Guinn said.

One way the students raise money is to have a contest between the first-block classes. Students in the classes donate change every day, and the class that donates the most gets a free breakfast delivered to the classroom after Christmas break.

Another Christmas Visions fundraiser is the annual auction held at the high school. Last year’s auction raised $3,000 for the program, Guinn said.

The event this year is Nov. 17, with dinner at 6 p.m. and the auction at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and include a meal from Leonardo’s and opportunities to bid in the silent and live auctions.

Limited tickets are available at the door.

All donations to Christmas Visions are tax-deductible. Guinn said 100 percent of donations go to the program; any costs associated with Christmas Visions are taken from the Student Council fund.

To order tickets for the auction or to donate to Christmas Visions, call program sponsor Amanda Adams at 531-1094.