The UASF Holiday Toy Drive is returning to Convent and Stuart Hall this November and December to help children who suffer from poverty and homelessness.
“I remember when this event happened last year, when I was a freshman,” sophomore Winnie Chun said. “Being a new member of the Sacred Heart community, I was very touched to see how dedicated the school and students were to helping those in need,”
For the past three years, Convent and Stuart Hall has partnered with Urban Angels SF. This organization provides front-line aid to San Fracnsicans who need help the most through community support, according to community life chair Michael Buckley.
“The toy drive is wonderful and the purpose of it is for people living in homeless shelters to have an incredible holiday season,” Buckley said. “This is the 3rd year of our school participating in this particular drive as a beneficiary and it really encourages students to participate in generous behavior,”
The Urban Angels’ goal every year is to ensure that no homeless child is left without a gift during the holiday season. Last year, during the 2022 holiday season, Convent and Stuart Hall donated toys for over 150 children.
“I am extremely proud of the Convent and Stuart Hall community for being able to make so many children happy,” Chun said. “Seeing the present pile up over the weeks inspires hope within the student community,”
This year, the goal of Convent and Stuart Hall is to provide gifts for at least 75 kids at the Hamilton Families Shelter. The dates of donation are between November 27 and December 15 with possibilities to sign up through spreadsheets, according to junior Caroline Runneboom.
“One of the things that has been interesting is that in the pre pandemic period, most of the service was external in the sense that students went to work with agencies,” Buckley said. “In this post pandemic period implementing food and toy drives that we learned about through the pandemic creates multiple avenues of charitable expression,”
Opportunities such as this toy drive, especially during the holiday season, assist with building community and holiday spirit in the Sacred Heart community, according to Chun.
“Being able to give to people in need makes me extremely happy,” Chun said. “ Especially during this time of year, being able to help others makes me grateful for all of the privileges that I have.”
