Written by: Delaney Norris, Staff Writer
GIVING: Puente’s annual toy drive brought joy to children spending the holidays in the pediatric hospital.
Over the holiday season, organizations held charity drives to help those who are in need. Charity drives are especially popular over the holiday season, where studies showed that Americans tend to feel up to 84% more charitable during the holiday months. It is an important time to reflect on the blessings one has in life and to also share those blessings with others. One group that collected donations over December was Poly’s own Puente classes, who held a toy drive last month. A ten year tradition, Mrs. Avila and her students recently started donating to Angelas wishes, a charity in honor of former puente student Angela Gomez, who was tragically killed in the Vegas route 91 shootings in late 2017. “Her primary goal was to be a pediatric nurse” Mrs Avila recalls. Angelas wishes was established by her family in Angela’s honor to help donate toys to pediatric hospitals where kids would receive them. Not only is it exciting for the kids receiving the toys, it is also fun for the students giving the gift. “I like that we are given the opportunity at school to help those in need” says student Lily Mccoy (11). Puente had another successful toy drive, collecting 185 toys. It is a good feeling to know that you can be the source of one’s happiness just because of a trip to Target to purchase a lego set. Thank you to all who were able to donate to children in need last month. If you were not able to, make sure to look out for opportunities next holiday season.