On Sunday I met with other students from the Stockton Honors Program in the Campus Center to shop for toys to donate to the Toys for Tots program. The Honors Program had collected money from selling t-shirts in the previous week and putting the profits towards shopping. When I arrived, I was surprised to see that there was already a substantial amount of students there. I had not been expecting such a high turnout since most students are not yet back on campus on Sunday afternoons. After assembling in the campus center, everyone headed to the local Toys R Us in order to shop. There, everyone divided into groups in order to ensure that different age groups and genders were represented. My group ended up shopping for younger girls around the elementary school to middle school age group. We picked out gifts such as Uno cards, adult coloring books and pencils, crafts, and Disney Princess action figure sets.
Overall, I am extremely grateful for this opportunity that being a part of the Honors Program presented to me. I had not previously put much thought into how much money goes into shopping gifts during the holiday season, so it was eye-opening to experience how expensive even simple toys can be and what it must be like to shop as parents. Toys for Tots is an amazing organization that helps so many children each holiday season and I’m glad that I was able to be a part of how Stockton contributed their donations. Organizations such as Toys for Tots highlight exactly how easy it is to get involved and give back, something that is often forgotten during the holiday season. All anyone needs to do is pick up a single inexpensive toy while at the store and by doing that they could make such a large impact on a child’s life. I also had a great time shopping and talking with my group during the outing. After, a reflection session was held to talk about the experience overall and reflect on what could be done similarly or differently in the upcoming years. I was extremely thankful for not only be able to participate in this event but also that it counted towards the Honors Program requirements.