Syriana Etheart: Toy Drive Volunteering (1-2 points)

 On December 20th, I volunteered with a local Boston non-profit for their annual toy drive. All throughout high school, I’ve worked very closely with Beantown Slam, a Boston non-profit focused on sports and mental health development. One of the programs this non-profit runs is Lil’ Rim. This program focuses on helping young elementary and early middle school children develop their basketball skills. Part of this program includes an annual toy drive just before Christmas. The toy drive is free for everyone, and children have the opportunity to pick out any gift they want, eat, participate in arts and crafts, and take a picture with Santa. 

This year, I helped set up all of the toys for the children to pick out. They were mainly organized by age and gender. After the initial setup, children began arriving for the regularly scheduled basketball programming. I was tasked with checking the children and their parents in. I made sure they completed the free registration and guided them to the area where they could pick out their toys. I love volunteering for this event because it always fills my heart with joy. The parents are especially appreciative of the toy drive because it takes some of the pressure off of them. Like the majority of the volunteer work I engage in, I find myself feeling really grounded when I get to help out my local community. It additionally means a lot to me because I grew up attending toy drives as well. Being able to continue the cycle of joy and giving back hits close to home. I can’t wait to engage in this work next year!