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Fairfax County high school students put politics aside for greater good of community

Members of the Young Democrats and the Young Republicans organizations at W.T. Woodson High School joined forces for a holiday gift drive.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — From impeachment to the Russia investigation, it has been a hectic year in politics, but that did not stop a group of students from W. T. Woodson High School from putting their political differences aside to come together for a greater mission.

Maddie Legum and Alex Kim are both student leaders with Woodson High School's Young Republicans organization. While students Julia Masterman and Molly Owens lead the school's Young Democrats organization.

For the holiday season, students from both organizations came together to help give back to local families in need.

"This is an issue we can work together on, so why does it matter if we are Democrats and they are Republicans?" Owens said.

The group organized a bipartisan gift drive to give back to families at the Katherine Hanley Family Shelter, an assistance and social services center for those in need. The shelter can accommodate up to 20 families and also offers mental health counseling and teen support groups.

Credit: WUSA9

"It is just about how we are fortunate enough to live in the area that we do and there are less fortunate people, so we need to step up and help others," Legum said. "(We) put everything aside and just make it a better place."

Plans for the gift drive started during the summer months. During the Thanksgiving holiday, the students placed out collection bins around Woodson High School asking for donations.

"We made it clear that we needed items for older ages because usually when these drives happen, people tend to focus on the younger ages," Owens said.

Credit: Nicole DiAntonio

The experience was so successful that the students are now talking about additional events they can host together.

"We had a great time working together and bringing our clubs together. I hope we will be able to hold even more meetings together in the future," Owens said.

Beyond the donations, the teenagers are expected to spend the weekend at the Katherine Family Shelter serving food and delivering gifts.

If you would like to help contribute to the donation drive, you can drop off items directly to the shelter. To learn more about how the shelter helps local families, click here.

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