SALEM — Students at Salem School got an early Christmas gift Monday — two boxes of sports equipment donated by a Chicago radio station.

Sports and extra-curricular programs were taken over by the volunteer Salem Booster Club this school year after the district eliminated funding as part of budget cuts in the wake of a series of failed referendums. The booster club has filled the gap with volunteers to coach sports and oversee clubs.

“The kids haven’t felt the pinch of the referendums,” said teacher Mindy Stewart, who volunteers as the clubs director for the booster club.

While teachers have taken on extra workloads because of staff cuts and larger class sizes, the efforts of the army of volunteers have kept most of the programs for children alive.

“It’s amazing the commitment these people have put in,” Stewart said.

But John Philippi, president of the booster club, said along with the volunteer efforts, the club needs to constantly try to raise money to keep up with the costs of providing sports uniforms and equipment, such as baseball bats and basketballs.

That’s why Philippi jumped at the chance when he heard Score Sports Radio AM 670 in Chicago was sponsoring a program for schools in need to receive free sports equipment.

“I thought we’ve got a pretty good story,” Philipp said, so he wrote in.

Salem was chosen by the radio station, along with two Chicago public schools and a school in Zion, Ill., to receive donations from the contest, called “Sporting the Spirit.”

For the program, the station encouraged listeners to drop off new and used sports equipment at locations in the city, and used cash donations to purchase additional equipment, station spokeswoman Lisa Gervasio said.

On Monday morning the station dropped off two Christmas boxes filled with donations. A group of kids unpacked the booty, including some new balls and bats, along with some used equipment such as batting helmets, a racquetball racket, old softballs and even a homemade baggo game.

Philippi said sports equipment is likely to be a continuing challenge.

“There’s just a lot of miscellaneous expenses that add up, and none of this is cheap,” he said.

For example, during basketball season, league rules call for a new ball for each game.

“We’re not entirely out of the woods, but we’re in pretty good shape.”