Twenty Menands Middle School students volunteered their time on Nov. 21 to make the holidays brighter for young children across the region.
Seventh and eighth grade students accompanied teacher Tom Schweizer and Community Resource Officer PJ Stone to the Toys for Tots warehouse in Mechanicville where they sorted toys and assembled gift bags.
“I like to help people have a good Christmas,” said JeyMithran R Karthik while digging in a box containing Mrs. Potato Heads and similar toys.
It’s the first year Menands students have volunteered at the Toys for Tots warehouse.
Schweizer, a middle school social studies teacher, said the students voted to take part in the work as part of their community involvement and leadership training.
“They decided at the class level that this was a very worthwhile cause and something they wanted to be a part of,” he said.
Stone said he has been involved with the Toys for Tots organization for years through his work for the Menands Police Department and membership in the
Menands Police Benevolent Association.
“This organization does so much for Upstate New York. The Capital Region Toys for Tots team is the largest Toys for Tots organization in the country with the amount they send back out into their communities,” he said.
Stone said the lessons learned by the Menands students will last long after the presents they helped prepare are opened on Christmas morning.
“I am very proud of the seventh and eighth graders who agreed to volunteer without even knowing what they would be going to do. They are great leaders within our school community that children in the younger grades can look up to,” he said.
For eighth grade student Deztinee Avila, the work she and her classmates did on Thursday is something everyone should experience.
“Helping people makes you feel good. When I needed help, people helped me, so it means a lot for me to be able to help other kids and ensure they will have presents to open Christmas morning,” she said.