(Photo Courtesy of Tempe Undergraduate Student Government)
Christmas is right around the corner, and Tempe Undergraduate Student Government is teaming up with United Way to hold a toy drive to help families in need during the holiday season.
Toy deposit boxes are spread around major points of interest on the Tempe campus and Tempe USG is asking that new toys in the original packaging be dropped in these bins which United Way will then disburse to families in Tempe and Phoenix.
Audrey Elms, Tempe USG philanthropic director, said about 50 boxes have been placed around campus for students to donate.
The slogan of the drive is “Spare a Toy, Share the Joy,” and the organizations involved are trying to collect toys from all of the organizations on campus, Elms said.
“We have partnered up with MU After Dark, PAB, MUAB, Sun Devils Unite and other organizations on campus, like Changemaker,” she said. “We are giving all of the toys to United Way as part of Project Connect which is a local organization and they will give them to local families in need.”
There are boxes in the Memorial Union, residence halls and the Sun Devil Fitness Complex. Tempe USG will also hold tabling events on Nov. 18, Nov. 25 and Dec. 3 to collect donations.
Elms said she is always looking for ways to get students involved with the community and this provided a perfect opportunity.
“This is one of those ways that is so simple to get people involved,” she said. “They can just drop off a toy in a local deposit box, and I just hope that it will get a good word out for the holidays, and everyone loves to give during the holidays.”
Brian Salerno, Tempe USG vice president of student services, said the idea for the toy drive came from MU After Dark, which has been the biggest contact for organizing the event.
“With the holidays coming up, and helping out the community, we are definitely interested in helping out,” he said. “Hopefully we will get a lot students to donate to come through and help the community.”
The goal for the drive is between 700 and 800 toys, Salerno said.
Lindsay Floyd, intern for philanthropic services, said the toy drive started on Nov. 15 and will run until Dec. 12. She said she is hopeful that the drive will really help some families in the community this holiday season.
“Personally, I hope that we get enough student involvement to collect a substantial amount of toys that we can donate,” she said. “I don’t think it is a hard thing to do, but it will be about us informing the public and getting people involved.”
Reach the reporter at jshanco2@asu.edu or follow on Twitter @joey_hancock
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