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.”
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