The holiday season is a time to see your family, give and receive gifts, and give back to your community. Gifts donated to people in need can help them greatly. They can also bring happiness to the community during the holidays. There are many places to do this throughout Berkley.
One place to donate is called Toys for Tots. Here you can donate a toy to this organization, and they will give it to kids who may not be able to afford toys. There are many locations around the world. In Berkley, there are places and stores that volunteer to have a designated donation spot where you can drop off toys. They will then give the toys to kids and families who requested toys. This is a U.S. Marine Corps and a non-profit charity. Bill Hendricks and his wife Diane founded Toys for Tots in 1947. In that year alone, they distributed around 5000 toys. Hendricks has befriended many celebrities, who he then asked to support his organization. You can donate toys or funds to make kids happy during the holidays. According to the Toys for Tots website, to this day, they have distributed over 677 million toys to 301 million children in need. To donate, there are many drop-off spots around Berkley, or you can donate on their website.
At Berkley High School, Student Leadership is doing a Holiday Family Adoption. They collect donations for students and families in Berkley who need extra support this holiday season. Though the donation window closed December 13th, they were still successful and delivered toys to many Berkley families. Student leadership member Ellie Anspach reports who receives these gifts. She says, “Families that are in need, and they reach out through their counselors, and they give us the names, and then people can get the gifts through that.” To get students to donate gifts, Anspach said, “We have a Sign-Up Genius online. Then we are going to go door to door in the community and give out flyers that have that information. They can use that Sign-Up Genius to sign up to donate and bring gifts to the school. Student Leadership really wants to help support people with gifts and Anspach explained why. “It’s so they can have a good holiday and for those who can’t have things they need or want, so people who have more can give these gifts.” There are other things Berkley students can do to give back. Regarding this, Anspach said, “We’re thinking about doing a class period where each fourth-hour class can pick a few items that they can pick to donate.” This is the school’s eighth year doing this, and every year it pays off!
Donating to these organizations can make a difference in a child’s life by making sure they can receive a gift. There are many families that need extra support, so by donating, you can ensure that they have a joyful holiday. This is what the holiday season is all about, not just receiving but giving back.
