Dec. 10, all five of North Port’s elementary schools, as well as Imagine School at North Port, will receive checks from the United Way of South Sarasota County. The organization gifts $500 to each school — five other Sarasota County schools also will benefit — to help needy students and their families cope with the additional financial burdens associated with the holiday season, as part of United Way’s annual “Holiday with a Heart” program.

Esther Bird, United Way event marketing coordinator, said this is the first time the checks are being awarded during a ceremony — scheduled for 9 a.m. at Village on the Isle in Venice.