Schools

Meadowbrook Students Making the Season Bright for Others

Middle school's ASB hopes to bring Christmas cheer to area youngsters with its Toys for Tots drive.

Toys aren’t considered a basic necessity in many respects, but for the students at , presents under the tree make Christmas a bit more special.

The school’s Associated Student Body, which is comprised of 48 eighth- and seventh- graders, is hosting its annual holiday drive for Toys for Tots.

The students, who are collecting toys from the campus community until Dec. 14, said it’s their way of showing others what it means to give back.

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“I want people to think about how fortunate they are .. that there are other people out there who cannot afford what we can,” said Julianna Hayashi, a seventh grade ASB representative.

The middle schoolers said they hope the toy drive will bring in enough donations to accommodate as many as 20 families. But the drive counts as more than the club’s winter project.

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ASB adviser Joe Gizzo said it’s an opportunity for the school to teach the students about kindness. 

“It’s very important,” Gizzo said. “We are building a community of kindness. The character lessons are just as important as the academic ones.”

Gizzo said the children chose to focus on the Toys for Tots program because the school is home to many military children. Eighth-grader Jordan Tolbert said the purpose is to give the children whose families cannot afford toys that special Christmas-morning feeling.

“You know that feeling you get on Christmas morning and how fun it is to open up presents?” she said. “Some kids don’t get that. It’s bringing a little more fun to their Christmas.”

ASB students are collecting toys until Wednesday, Dec. 14. Interested donors can drop off toys during the school’s office hours. For more information, call 858-748-0802.


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