Robyn Apgar, a longtime bus driver for Troy School District 30-C, always yearned to pull every tag from a holiday wish tree and fulfill each gift request herself.

She decided to take another approach and, beginning in 2012, started buying Christmas presents for all of the elementary children in her daily care, which comes to about 50.

For all of those years of giving and sharing, District 30-C recently honored Apgar with its “Troy High-Five Award.”

“Thank you, Miss Robyn, for your heart brimming with love and compassion. We appreciate you creating these special moments for our students,” the district said.

Apgar doesn’t simply hand out the gifts. She turns it into a fun event for the students by drawing names from a special cookie jar designated for this.

After Apgar draws the first name and hands out the gift to the child, that student then draws the second name and so forth, she said.

“If you could see what we’re doing and see the excitement on their faces at picking the names and everyone cheering, it’s so much fun,” Apgar said.

She started first with “buying little things” – such as coloring books – from local dollar stores so kids “would have something to do” over Christmas break.

“One little girl said, ‘This is stupid,’ and I thought, ‘I’ve got to step up my game,’” Apgar said.

Now, Apgar watches for sales at major outlets and spreads the spending across the entire year, so she’s able to buy “decent gifts” at a reasonable price.

Apgar almost skipped a year when she had surgery in 2018. The doctor’s bills were piling up, and Apgar lost several months of work.

But she felt the kids wouldn’t understand.

“A kid doesn’t understand Santa is broke. So, I did what I could,” she said.

One year, Apgar said she wound up with 13 additional students on her bus right before Thanksgiving.

“I was kind of scrambling to get presents for 13 more kids,” Apgar said.

Through the years, Apgar started celebrating students’ birthdays by leading everyone on the bus in an enthusiastic rendition of “Happy Birthday.”

Students also share milestones, such as earning a strong test grade in a subject they find challenging.

“The joy I get from seeing my kids so excited, it’s a ray of light,” Apgar said.

Jeff Otte of Plainfield said Apgar even “filled in” as his children’s mother at school events, back when he was struggling to raise seven children on his own, including one with cancer and one with autism.

“She never asks for anything in return,” he said. “But [she] treats all the kids like her own.”

Apgar said people have kindly told her, “You need to stop doing this. It’s financially hard.”

Yet, Apgar keeps going, despite any challenges she’s experiencing in her own life.

“I’ve got to believe God is watching over me,” she said.