After over 20 years SkillsUSA Autotech team will retire its Give a Child a Smile bicycle project.   

   Since the national judges have seen the project for so many years, sponsor Thomas Spence said the chapter decided to do something different this year.

   “We are currently still doing the bike donations,” Spence said. “It will simply just be one of our little side projects this year.”

  The group has a new project called Packages of Hope, collecting donated blankets, beanies and fuzzy socks for people going through cancer treatments. Second period classes also have donation jars to collect funds to purchase additional warm items. The group is taking the donations through Nov. 17.

   SkillsUSA Auto Tech junior Isabella Rudder said that one member in their community service team has a family member with cancer, and the event has impacted them all.

  “It basically shows how tragic things can be under these certain circumstances, and how much pressure and stress one goes through,” Rudder said. “We all just want to give back and help others as much as we can.”

  The chapter is reaching out to cancer treatment locations in Lubbock as possible delivery options, since there aren’t any cancer treatment sites in Seminole.

  “We thought we could be generous and heart warming to people at what could be one of the worst moments of their lives,” Spence said.