2008 Woodie Awards
Holiday Helper Adoption to supply gifts for children in need
SVC offers ISU students an opportunity to help give back to the community
Stephanie Lyons
Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: News
The Student Volunteer Center supplies gifts to children in need during the month of November with the Holiday Helper Adoption, and ISU students can help.
"We just want to accomplish a good, meaningful community service for the students so that they will want to come back again. Also provide an opportunity for the children to receive gifts and have a good time," Cristina Gambino, graduate assistant in the student volunteer center, said. Children from The Boys and Girls Club, Western Avenue Community Center and Catholic Charities have children from their programs fill out a form detailing three wants and three needs each child desires.
"Wants and needs can consist of bedding, clothes, different games they like or toys," Kelly Bols, community issues director for Student Volunteer Center, said. Students can go into the Student Volunteer Center and pick up a holiday helper card throughout November. The card states the child's three wants and three needs, the child's name, age and size.
Volunteers spend about $40 on the gifts. After purchasing the gifts, the volunteers bring them back to the Student Volunteer Center unwrapped.
"Then we go through and make sure each of the gifts are uniform, and that no one is getting more than the other," Bols said.
Bols said the event is held in order to help underprivileged children in the community who may only receive one gift for Christmas.
"We just try to make it as helpful as we can because a lot of time we have families with two or three kids. We are just trying to make it easier on the parents. So some of the things that are more expensive we can possibly help with," Bols said.
Even if gifts were not involved, children would still enjoy being with the students.
"We hope the mission for our kids and the college students is to connect, get a sense of community and get a sense of humanitarianism. Our kids like connecting with the college students, and they get to have a play day in an environment they feel comfortable in," Iris Hildreth, community service supervisor for Catholic Charities, said.
"We just want to accomplish a good, meaningful community service for the students so that they will want to come back again. Also provide an opportunity for the children to receive gifts and have a good time," Cristina Gambino, graduate assistant in the student volunteer center, said. Children from The Boys and Girls Club, Western Avenue Community Center and Catholic Charities have children from their programs fill out a form detailing three wants and three needs each child desires.
"Wants and needs can consist of bedding, clothes, different games they like or toys," Kelly Bols, community issues director for Student Volunteer Center, said. Students can go into the Student Volunteer Center and pick up a holiday helper card throughout November. The card states the child's three wants and three needs, the child's name, age and size.
Volunteers spend about $40 on the gifts. After purchasing the gifts, the volunteers bring them back to the Student Volunteer Center unwrapped.
"Then we go through and make sure each of the gifts are uniform, and that no one is getting more than the other," Bols said.
Bols said the event is held in order to help underprivileged children in the community who may only receive one gift for Christmas.
"We just try to make it as helpful as we can because a lot of time we have families with two or three kids. We are just trying to make it easier on the parents. So some of the things that are more expensive we can possibly help with," Bols said.
Even if gifts were not involved, children would still enjoy being with the students.
"We hope the mission for our kids and the college students is to connect, get a sense of community and get a sense of humanitarianism. Our kids like connecting with the college students, and they get to have a play day in an environment they feel comfortable in," Iris Hildreth, community service supervisor for Catholic Charities, said.
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