Christmas Toy Drive 2017

“Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them”-Mother Teresa.

After experiencing the Christmas Toy Drive, I feel this quotation best exemplified my experience and that of the Delbarton community felt as well. During December of 2017, the entire student body began prepping for the big Toy Drive for Catholic Charities in Patterson. During M Block on December 6th, deaneries met as to organize and package the toys we were assigned to bring. Christmas Music was blasting throughout the halls, and there was a tangible Christmas spirit within everyone. After packaging the toys, we gathered as a school, outside in the freezing cold! There we ate donuts and drank hot chocolate, and enjoyed the beautiful Christmas decorations scattered throughout campus. Later in the week, the Christmas Drive continued. On December 10th, Delbarton families gathered to deliver these amazing toys. Students and their parents met in the Gregory Room for an early mass and went on our way to Patterson. Once we arrived at Catholic Charities, we unloaded the trunk and, began to organize the toys by age and gender group. I was lucky enough to be stationed at the girl’s ages 2-4, which had some fascinating toys and stuffed animals!

Over the course the day, it was amazing to see the number of families who arrived to collect toys. These families were able to get two toys for each child; choices included a ball, a Hess truck, a drawing set, a truck, and a toy car! Other than being stationed at each age group, students were also required to support these families and help them collect their toys. I worked with four families, who were exceptionally friendly and grateful for what we were doing. After the long day at Patterson, I reflected on my experience at the Toy Drive. I realized how lucky I am to have a roof over my head, the opportunity to attend a school like Delbarton and the abundance of gift I receive at Christmas.  This experience has, in turn, made me more grateful for the blessings my family and what God have given me. Interacting with the less fortunate is an essential element of human life. In the Encyclical, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis asserts, “Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God’s plan, inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and the environment.” To become better people and improve society, we must protect ourselves, the environment, and especially one another. We, as a people of the human race, are all children of God, which is why it is necessary and essential to help one another in the most challenging of times. God loves us all equally, which is why we must love one another equally as well.

“All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away.”-Peter Bailey