Avon Old Farms Collects Toys for Tots

From Avon Old Farms:

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Students at Avon Old Farms School have spent the last two weeks dedicating their time and energy to the school’s largest and most profitable annual fundraiser: the Toys for Tots Drive. Led by student body Warden Chris Davis ’14 and the Student Council, this initiative often raises in excess of $10,000, all to be used toward a shopping trip. Tomorrow, December 16, at 7:45 a.m., the toys will be displayed at Avon Old Farms, and a representative from Hands on Hartford will accept the donation and speak to the student body.

Between their return from Thanksgiving vacation and their departure for the holiday break tomorrow, students participate in many different fundraising activities, culminating in a school-wide prize drawing of prizes donated from faculty, staff, and members of the Avon community, along with items donated by local businesses. Members of the Student Council sell tickets to students and faculty members; proceeds from ticket sales, as well as proceeds from various other fundraising efforts, all go toward a shopping trip the night before the students leave for their holiday break.

Faculty and student volunteers travel to a local Target store and comb the aisles for toys, games, sporting goods, and winter weather necessities such as coats, hats, gloves, and boots, all paid for using the proceeds from the Toys for Tots drive. After their trip, the volunteers display all of the purchased items on the stage in the Brown Auditorium, where it greets the school community at the last morning meeting of the year before vacation. Seeing the efforts of two weeks of hard work and dedication to the cause bolsters everyone in attendance with a boost of holiday cheer.

For the last several years, Hands on Hartford, a local organization that provides direct services to people in need, has been the recipient of Avon’s contributions. Tomorrow morning, representatives from Hands on Hartford will speak to the Avon community about the significance of the Toys for Tots drive and the many lives the school’s fundraising efforts will impact. After morning meeting and the conclusion of the prize drawing, several students will help deliver all of the toys to Hands on Hartford. There, Avon student and faculty volunteers will help chaperone a Christmas party. Parents will come in and select Christmas gifts for their unknowing children, who are waiting nearby at a fun, festive gathering, with music, snacks, crafts, and other activities.

Community service remains one of the pillars of life at Avon Old Farms, and during the holidays, all members of the Avon family enjoy being able to make an important difference in the lives of those less fortunate, and help put gifts under a child’s Christmas tree.

Image via Avon Old Farms Facebook page