By MEHAR NANGIA
Staff Writer
Every year, University High School’s (UHS) Associated Student Body (ASB) hosts a Holiday Toy Drive to ensure that as many kids as possible get to enjoy a new toy this holiday season. In UHS’s office stands a Christmas tree under which anyone can drop off a toy they wish to donate.
This year, however, ASB’s Service Projects Commissioners, Biyonka Liang (Sr.) and Margaret Bilder (Sr.) have taken it one step further by extending to homerooms the opportunity to donate. ASB has provided a small ornament to each homeroom with a child’s name and age so that the homeroom’s students may then, if they so wish, buy a toy and donate it to that child.
Liang said, “The Toy Drive is part of the Sparks of Love program that ABC7 and the OC Fire Department host every year. UHS donates about 100 toys to underprivileged or homeless kids in Orange County each year as part of this drive.”
Many UHS Students also enjoy the giving end of the toy drive. Ryan Eid (Jr.) said, “The toy drive is one of my favorite drives of the year. I think people need to realize how happy one toy can make an underprivileged child feel.” He added that “the homeroom program should be able to increase donations because staring at an empty ornament may make people want to donate even more.”
This year UHS has already donated in many other aspects, from the Can Drive to the Blood Drive. Both drives were a rousing success, and the hope is that the Toy Drive will be equally successful. With 3,005 cans donated in the Can Drive and over 170 sign-ups for the Blood Drive, UHS has proven itself as a giving community.
Ozan Erdal (Jr.) has been an avid supporter of and contributor in all of UHS’s donation drives, but he says the toy drive is the most special and also one of the most well-executed drives. He added, “It’s great that as a school we can come together to give to the less fortunate especially in a time of giving. Giving each homeroom class an individual child makes it seem very personalized. I hope all classes gather money to get a gift that will make their child happy.”
If you would like to donate a toy this holiday season either go to the front office or drop it off in your homeroom. If you have any further questions, such as where your donated toy will be going, you can contact the Service Projects Commissioners at [email protected].