UNION, NJ — The holiday spirit of giving is alive at Kean University as the campus community comes together for toy drives to benefit hundreds of New Jersey children.
Be the Change NJ, a philanthropic group headed by assistant professor Norma Bowe, worked with the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program and collected toys for 1,200 children in Newark, Elizabeth and New Brunswick.
The toy drive, called Santa to the Streets, is an outgrowth of Be the Change’s urban garden project, which promotes gardening in otherwise unused lots in Newark.
“We are very much involved in the community now. We are out there celebrating the holidays with the community, and Kean students are being mentors and amazing influencers to neighborhood children,” Bowe said.
The group also worked with Elizabeth Public Schools and Lazos America Unida in New Brunswick to bring toys to homeless and needy children this past holiday season.
Kean students gathered in Hennings Hall in the middle of December to wrap the presents. One of them was Sarat Busari from Highland Park, a senior studying biology.
“It’s about giving back. We are happy to provide gifts to families that can’t afford presents for their kids. It makes me feel very joyful to see their smiles and how happy they are,” she said.
Kean athletes also offered their support. The women’s basketball and swimming teams pitched in to sort and wrap gifts, and Kean football’s offensive coordinator David Galante volunteers each year to play Santa.
Kean student organizations also hosted other toy drives in December. Chi Upsilon Sigma sorority had a Toys for Tots event, and the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association had a Ryan’s Toy Roundup event to collect toys for the Ryan Patrick Faella Foundation.
The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless benefited from student-run events. The Helping Younger Hands Club hosted Operation Christmas Basket to support the organization, and students in the Leadership Institute had a food and clothing drive. Students volunteered at the annual holiday boutique at Bernice’s Place, the coalition’s afterschool program for homeless and at-risk children.
Kean students also created candygrams for City Relief, an organization in New Jersey and New York that provides assistance to the homeless, personally designing more than 400 candygrams for homeless individuals in Elizabeth.
Photo Courtesy of Kean University