Students can spread holiday cheer by donating to a toy drive that is currently accepting new, unwrapped toys and essential items for donation at barrels placed at different points around campus until Dec. 12.
Donated toys will go to underprivileged children that are in need of presents for the holiday season and essential items, which include household items such as washcloths and paper towels. The products will go to help those that are transitioning from the foster care system into independent living, according to Annette McCoy, marketing coordinator for Wright State’s Office of Communications and Marketing.
An email from the Office of Communications and Marketing said that potential donors can find the barrels placed in the Bookstore (182 Student Union), College of Nursing and Health (160 University Hall), Human Resources (115 Medical Sciences), Center for Teaching and Learning(023 Dunbar Library) and the Educational Resource Center (116 Allyn Hall).
There are also two off-campus locations at Communications and Marketing (4035 Colonel Glenn Hwy. Suite 300) and the University Advancement Foundation Building (3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, 3rd floor).
Donors, according to McCoy, should avoid donating toy guns.
Those interested in helping can also adopt a family. According to the Wright State website, “Donors will receive wishlists from adoptees.”
McCoy, who volunteers her time with For Love of Children (FLOC), said that she enjoys helping children and is “passionate” about volunteering.
“The children that are involved with this,” said McCoy, “for a lot of them, these are the only gifts they’ll receive for Christmas. If we weren’t contributing, they wouldn’t receive anything.”
In addition to WSU’s toy drive, FLOC is also running other toy drives throughout the area. According to Beth Mann, president of the FLOC board, there are about 70 barrels scattered around the community.
Mann said, “Everything that goes into those barrels goes onto our shelves and will be put under the tree of a child who normally wouldn’t have Christmas.”
Mann encourages anyone looking for more information on donation to visit FLOC’s website and mentioned that they are always seeking volunteers.
