Masuk Free Press

The holiday spirit is alive and thriving at Masuk High School, where students, staff and community members are coming together to bring joy to families in need through the SWAG Giving Tree program. SWAG, standing for Students With Academic Growth, is run by Gary Nelson Jr., who has collaborated closely with Masuk Spanish teacher Joel Castillo to bring this project to life. This cherished initiative connects the Masuk community with certain families in Bridgeport to ensure the holidays are brighter for everyone involved.

“[SWAG] is a community center in Bridgeport, and it services the families in that community,” Castillo explained. “The families that frequent that community center are less fortunate.”

Together, Castillo and Nelson developed the idea of a “giving tree” to help fulfill the holiday wishes of children in the community. 

“Talking to the director of the program over there, we came up with this idea of doing a giving tree, which is basically having kids do a wishlist, and we would provide them with Christmas gifts, and help out the families with fulfilling their wishes. 

“Some of these wishes are clothing items, could be toys,” Castillo continued. “It could be as basic, though, as socks for some of these kids. And now for the winter, it’s getting cold, hats, scarfs, gloves, things like that.”

The SWAG Giving Tree has inspired participation from all corners of the Masuk community and beyond. It’s not only students who are getting involved. Masuk teachers, DECA, families from Griffin Hospital and families of students are all assisting in making an impact. Those interested can help by participating in buying gifts, donating money for arts and crafts, helping to organize the presents, and more. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved.

“I kinda feel like Santa, and all my elves,” Castillo said. “My classroom’s Santa’s factory—we’re gonna be wrapping up a lot of gifts, and just organizing this.”

But the SWAG Community Center itself is much more than a place to distribute gifts. It serves as a safe space for children in Bridgeport to grow, learn and engage in positive activities. 

“Students go there right after school to do their homework, keeps them off the streets, and gives them a safe space to learn values, responsibilities, like cleaning up after themselves. They do arts and crafts as well, teamwork—there’s a lot of basketball teams there, there’s also soccer leagues. They just do a little bit of everything. There’s dance classes as well. It’s almost like a YMCA.”

Preparations are well underway for this year’s gift distribution event, scheduled for Dec. 17. Volunteers have been working hard to ensure that every child’s wish is fulfilled. With 150 children and over 300 presents, there is a lot to organize and keep track of.

The event promises to be a festive celebration, complete with performances, holiday treats, and plenty of cheer. “We’re going to have greeters at the door, we’re going to have someone volunteer to be a Santa and elves,” Castillo said. “They’re gonna perform for us. Baked goods, cookies, brownies, hot cocoa, that we’re gonna be giving out to the kids as well.”

For Castillo, the program is personal and deeply meaningful. “When people come down and check out SWAG, they always come back and say ‘I communicated with Gary, I wanna go back, I wanna help out all the girls in the community’, or some sort of project of whatever else SWAG needs. Our Masuk students always step up, so that’s why I keep going back. It’s the 17th, but the 16th is my birthday. This is the best way to celebrate my birthday.”

The SWAG Giving Tree is about more than just gifts—it’s about community, compassion and making a difference. It shows that when people come together with a shared purpose, they can create something truly special. As the Masuk community prepares for the big day, the SWAG Giving Tree continues to embody the true spirit of the holiday season: giving, connection, and joy. With the support of Gary Nelson Jr., SWAG coordinators and countless volunteers, the program is once again working to make a big difference.