Giving a little to the victims

Marisa O’Neil

What started as an idea to brighten the holidays for some of the

youngest fire victims grew into a massive drive that surprised even

its organizers.

The Harbor Council PTA earlier this week delivered two trucks full

of toys, books and stuffed animals to children in San Bernardino,

many of whom lost everything in the raging firestorms last month. PTA

officials set up drop-offs at Newport-Mesa district schools and got

more than they bargained for when they delivered the toys.

“When we first started [the idea], we thought the two of us could

just take the seats out of our minivans and take a couple loads up,”

Harbor Council PTA President Patty Christiansen said of herself and

co-President Ellen Carroll. “Then we ended up with these two trucks

filled to the brim. When we pulled up with those trucks and they

could see they were full, they were like: ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t

believe it.’”

All the donations will go to help the children who lost everything

to fire, smoke or water damage. As many as 400 children will benefit,

said Kat Schall from the Fifth District PTA in San Bernardino County.

At one school, 110 students were displaced, Schall said. Her

family lives in Del Rosa, only a few blocks from one of the

burned-out areas. She put a call out for help after taking a walk

through one of the devastated areas.

“We’ve been flooded with e-mails from people who want to help,”

Schall said. “The Fourth District PTA [which includes the Harbor

Council PTA] has been the best. I can’t believe how many people came

through.”

The Harbor Council PTA got involved after Newport Heights

Elementary School parent Gail Standt approached her school’s PTA

about helping the fire victims. Harbor Council stepped in and set up

drop-off points at almost every district school.

Newport Heights students also made cards and drawings and wrote

letters to the fire victims. Standt said they had them bound and are

presenting them to the Fifth District PTA for the students to read.

Four parents picked up all the items from district schools last

week and dropped them off at Christiansen’s home. Donations included

new and nearly new books, toys, bicycles, scooters and construction

sets.

“The inside of my house was filled, my driveway was filled,

stacked seven feet high with boxes,” Christiansen said. “We had a

mountain of donations. It was a great, feel-good day, a great

opportunity for us in Newport-Mesa who have so much to give something

back.”