Students’ Toy Drive Fosters Smiles, Love

The kindergarten students sat huddled in a line in the school courtyard, where they clutched their presents and stared as Santa Claus and his 25 assistants helped them carry their gifts back to their classrooms. Christmas had come early to Clinton Elementary School.

After a three-week toy drive at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, student government representatives brought presents Thursday to 126 kindergarten pupils at Clinton in Orange County’s poorest area, and to the 58 students at the Mendenhall Special Education School for severely handicapped children next door.

“We wanted to bring toys to the less fortunate,” said Julie Armour, 17, Pacifica High School student body president. “We had thought what it might be like not having anything, so we wanted to give something to the children.”

Most of the students at Clinton in Garden Grove are from families who may not be able to afford many gifts, according to Dr. De Wayne Terry, the principal.

Kindergarten teacher Carla Martinez agreed.

“A lot of our kids are so very poor,” Martinez said. “This is so exciting for them and such a delight. If anybody deserves this, they do. One of my kids wouldn’t let go of her stuffed animal.”

‘Everyone Pulled Through’

At first, the teen-agers had feared a shortage of presents. “It was so slow getting presents,” Armour said. “We were kind of nervous. But then everyone pulled through and everything started to come in.”

Seniors John Pham, 18, and Marcello Surjopolos, 17, went door-to-door in Garden Grove, gathering toys from residents and putting them in shopping carts.

“People were handing us stuff left and right when we told them what we were doing,” Pham said. “By the time we finished, the carts were so full.”

The goal, Surjopolos said, “was to have about 130 gifts and we ended up with a lot more. This is worth all the heartache. Just look at their faces.”

The toy drive received more than 450 donations from Pacifica High School students, teachers and neighbors. It took students two days to wrap them.

“This is quite an experience for the students at both schools,” Terry said. “I saw a lot of love pass back and forth between them. Some of the Pacifica students wanted to take the little ones home with them.”

Pacifica Principal Don Wise, who had helped with a toy drive at another high school, suggested the idea this year.

‘Proud of Them’

“I don’t know who enjoys this more . . . those getting presents or those giving them away,” Wise said. “It’s a bit emotional. So many of our students have never been exposed to poverty. They took this to heart and I’m so proud of them.”

After they distributed the toys, the high school students and Santa Claus, played by George Terlaak, Pacifica’s activities director, followed the children back to their classrooms to see how they liked their gifts.

Jenoveve Cortez, 5, flashed a wide smile when she opened her gift and found a doll. “I like her,” she said.

Arturo Avina, 6, held up his bubble-topped space ship and nodded. “Yeah, this is good,” he said as he examined it carefully.

Debbie Flores watched her daughter, Kacy, 6, happily cradling a stuffed rabbit in the school’s courtyard. “This is so cute,” Flores said. “They are making Christmas so special.”

Pham, helping a boy unwrap a toy, said: “Hey, look at their faces; they’re just lighting up. They are so cute, I swear.”

“We’re lucky,” senior Vicki Viscardi, 18, said quietly as she looked at the children. “We get practically everything. If we don’t like a gift, we can raise a fuss. Here, they get one gift and they’re overjoyed.”