The Seneca High School student council is often in the news for heart-warming stories, but nothing beats lending a helping hand during the holiday season.
Student council president Samantha Scarpello said this season is not as joyous for some as it is for others.
“We’re giving back for the holiday season by giving these toys to the kids in the community who otherwise wouldn’t get anything at all for Christmas,” Scarpello said.
Seneca held its annual Toy Drive on Dec. 3. This is a tradition that dates back to when the high school first opened its doors in 2003.
“We inherited the idea from Shawnee about 14 years ago,” guidance counselor Erica Maira said.
Maira is also the advisor for the student council and has been leading this event for several years, though she attributed much of the success of the toy drive to the surrounding schools in the district that collect the toys and bring them in to donate.
The Indian Mills Memorial Middle School and Cranberry Pines Elementary School started gathering donated toys around Thanksgiving and were able to contribute several bags to the high school for the event.
The Seneca student council and additional student volunteers helped to clean and organize the toys to be put on display in the cafeteria.
“There were heaps of bags. We took them all out Thursday afternoon and labeled all of the tables in the cafeteria so we could organize the toys for the agencies by category (dolls, electronics, books, etc.),” Toy Drive Committee Chairperson Laura Pfeffer said.
Arc of Burlington County, Bethany Christian Services, Boys and Girls Club of Camden County, Dudley Schools of Camden and the Christian Caring Center were among the agencies picking up the toys.
The Seneca students helped “shop” and load the cars and trucks. The toys will now be distributed to more than 800 children in South Jersey.
Maira referenced numerous instances in years past when she received letters from the agencies saying thank you.
“Sometimes, these are the only toys they get at Christmas,” Maira said. “Some of the thank you notes referenced how the recipient gave it to her sister to give to her other sister. It just shows how this can bring a little joy to an entire family.”
This level of gratitude made all the hard work worthwhile for the Seneca students who got involved.
“It was cool to be able to give back to the community and help out during the holiday season, a time that can be tough for some families,” Scarpello said. “The best part was watching everyone come to the doors and seeing their faces light up as they looked through the toys.”
The National Honor Society donated the new toys to Toys for Tots, an ongoing program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve that distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas.
