Questar III BOCES first ever Holiday House

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It’s the time of year for giving, and one local trade school is hosting its first of its kind event to help get the giving going. Questar III BOCES in Troy hosted their first ever Holiday House. It's all set up to benefit the students and local firefighters.

“Half the proceeds from this event are going to be donated back to our local fire departments and the other half is going to go to our SkillsUSA Chapter to help offset the costs of some competitions,” said Student Event Coordinator, Maille Maloney.

Consultant teacher, SkillsUSA Advisor, Beth O’Brien explained, “The big idea behind this event is to bring that awareness to Career and Technical education and to get our community more engaged.”

“It's just about having kids come in and do fun crafts and learn about our programs and see all the decorations we put up, for them,” said Student Event Coordinator, Mackenzie Hersko.

And take your pick as far as things to do. They had everything from basket raffles to a delicious Hot Cocoa Bar. “Hot chocolate is amazing thank you,” said one attendee.

There was also an opportunity for painting wooden toys, decorating cookies and Christmas cards to playing on student created video games and even a salon full of Whoville updos.

“We're painting cars. I'm going to add some more to mine,” said little helper, Kyler Hasso.

“We have the best chef going, over here,” said a school official.

The event also brought in some heavy equipment for their twist on a favorite Christmas tale. “There is a whole bunch of crafts centered around the Grinch and ‘Schoolville’ and we kind of put our own twist on Whoville and Incorporated a little bit of heavy equipment and welding into it as well,” said Student Event Coordinator, Madisyn Bulson.

Sage Dudley is a student at Questar III, BOCES and she told NEWS10 Reporter, James De La Fuente, she is doing what she loves. “Me personally, I love playing with cars. And here I am in an automotive class racing a race car.”

As far as picking a best Whoville updo? Well, that was no easy task said attendee Karen Young, “It's wonderful. I can't believe what a good job the kids have done. It's so festive and we're having a hard time picking the favorite updo.”

Santa even made an appearance, doing his usual Santa thing. “I'm definitely stopping by the Troy Police Department on my way home to check the naughty list. But we're checking that list twice,” confirmed Santa.

Yet tonight was not all just about fun and games at Questar III, BOCES. “There's that gap in the workforce and we are addressing that here. We are creating students and helping students learn to become professional, self-motivated, responsible. Develop that strong worth ethic,” said O’Brien.

The student ran event raised $1,400 in admission donations. $762 will be going to local fire fighters and the rest will benefit the SkillsUSA Chapter to help cover expenses to attend leadership events and regional, state and national competitions. The event brought out nearly 500 visitors.