The holidays are starting early at Humber College, officially kicking off this festive season by spreading cheer to local families.
The college’s Department of Public Safety is leading the campus' Holiday Toy Drive, running until Dec. 11
The drive wants to motivate students to “strengthen Humber’s culture of care and community involvement,” Cassandra Dias from Humber’s Department of Public Safety said in an email interview.
Drop-off locations at the North campus are at the LRC lobby, LRC sixth floor, the student residence lobby, and the NX101 public desk.
Drop-off boxes at Lakeshore campus are found in the L Building Lobby, the WEL Building Lobby, Student Residence R, Student Residence AR, and the University of Guelph-Humber’s drop-off is by the main floor front desk.
Jayse Costales, a student at Guelph-Humber, said the Toy Drive is a way for people in the community to make others feel welcomed during the holidays.
Something he remembers well from his childhood was being given Hot Wheels, recollecting that “when I came back from the break, I could play with my friends,” Costales said.
Although the pressure of exams has left him short on time this semester, Costales still believes the initiative is important, reminding students that these gestures can make a big difference for families during the holidays.
With a large box wrapped in festive paper on the exterior, the inviting toy drive poster at the front of the package makes it hard to miss.
Dias said some popular gifts to donate are "board games, STEM-oriented kits, creative art sets, and sports equipment.”
She said these common items reflect Humber’s ongoing commitment to help “families and children in need throughout the local community before the holidays.”
The annual drive has provided “hundreds of toys to several local hospitals and families in the GT” in past years, according to the internal employees' newsletter Humber Communique.
Besides toys, items like “books, self-care sets, and especially gift cards,” are meaningful for children, families, and teenagers who feel underrepresented throughout the holiday season, Dias said.
Donations are picked up by Toronto Police Services, who distribute them to families and children in need throughout the community before the holidays, Dias said.
She calls contributions a simple yet powerful way for students to give back and build up spirit within the collective.
Jennett Mays, a communications officer with Barrie Police, said community-driven initiatives like Humber’s toy drive allow officers to “give back to the community that we serve and to help out those that might need it.”
Mays said families value the opportunity to meet in non-emergency settings. It helps officers and auxiliary volunteers “engage with them on a more personal level that they might not have time to when they're responding to a call for service,” Mays said.
Officers participate in these drives voluntarily, organizing their efforts because they want to be involved. “It's all officers who are volunteering their time and volunteering to be a part of it,” she said.
Mays said other initiatives, like Holiday with a Hero, are programs that pair officers with children, chosen by the United Way, which can be a meaningful experience for police.
In this experience, “they shop using donated gift cards, and the officers accompany the kids around the store and help them pick out gifts for their families,” Mays said.
With every donated toy, STEM-oriented kit, or piece of sports equipment, the same feeling of belonging that students like Jayse Costales experienced helps make the season brighter for families across the GTA.
