It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the offices of the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL). Their fourth annual Fordham toy drive is underway and the department is busy collecting gifts and seeking volunteers for their holiday events—two toy-wrapping parties on Dec. 16 and 17 and a toy giveaway party with Santa on Dec. 18.
CCEL partners with community organizations and New York City Councilmember Oswald Feliz to collect and distribute gifts to Bronx families. Together they give out more than 1,000 gifts to Bronx children at the toy giveaway event.
“It’s really a great community program for everyone to be a part of,” said Keisha Shay, Ph.D., director of CCEL. “It’s very exciting and festive.”
There are three ways to take part in this charitable tradition:
1. Donate a toy from now through Dec. 16. The toys should be unwrapped and geared toward ages ranging from newborn to 17.
Drop-off locations include:
Lowenstein lobby
Gabelli School of Business lobby and CCEL office (Room 140 at 140 W. 62nd St.)
McShane Campus Center entrance and CCEL office (Room 215)
Public Safety office at Rose Hill
2. Sign up for an hour-long shift at one of two wrapping parties with faculty, staff, students, and local families on Dec. 16 and 17.
Pizza, refreshments, and Christmas tunes make the parties extra festive. “It’s one of the most fun activities,” said Maria Rodriguez, CCEL’s associate director of engaged student learning. You don’t have to be a pro at wrapping—just do your best, she said. You can also decorate frames for the photos with Santa that will be taken at the toy giveaway event.
3. Volunteer to help out for an hour or more at the toy giveaway party. Choose from multiple shifts, held from 3 to 8 p.m., to work at stations such as the photo booth, present booth, or cookie and hot cocoa station. Having many people staffed at each station makes the event run smoothly—and you’ll get to see children’s faces light up as they pick out a gift, a priceless reward.
Making sure the community feels welcome at Fordham is another important aspect of the event, said Shay. For many families, the toy giveaway is the first time they’re coming to campus, and many stay long after they receive their gifts. “You can see that it’s a really joyful time for them to be on campus and to experience this.”
“It’s lovely to see students, staff, and faculty interact with the community,” said Rodriguez. “It is absolutely adorable when the younger kids ask the students or staff questions about their experiences on a college campus.”
