Students, Teachers Give Back
By Sam Lepore and Lauren Black
Our banks may be broke,
but our spirit isn’t.
This year teachers and
students are spreading holiday
cheer through acts of charity on
and off campus.
This week, from Dec.
14-18, AVID Lead Coordinator
Robin Mairs organized the second
annual Toy Drive.
“I chose to do this because
I have two small children,”
she stated. “The joy
that Christmas morning brings
to them is unbelievable. They
truly believe in magic, if only
for one day. The thought that
there are children out there who
do not get the chance to experience
this magic is heartbreaking.”
Any new and unopened
toys were welcome to be
dropped off in her room or box.
They could be anything appropriate
for children aged one to
ten years old- every donation
makes a significant difference.
Mairs will deliver the final
donations to the San Clemente
Fire Department, Camino
de los Mares station. Acting on
behalf of Toys for Tots, the firefighters
will dress up as Santa
Claus to distribute the gifts
amongst needy children.
From Nov. 30 through
Dec. 11, students were asked to
bring as many cans as possible
to their fourth period classes.
The class to bring in the highest
number of cans was treated with
a pizza party supplied by ASU.
Linda Yeargin’s class won by a
landslide with almost 500 cans,
followed by Jeff Prinz and Kurt
Speidel’s classes, respectively.
Motivated by the plethora
of cans collected in prior
years, students managed to
raise over 2,600 cans this year
alone.
ASU has organized the
annual Canned Food Drive,
and is additionally planning to
reinstate the Coat Drive in January,
while AVID, Gay Straight
Alliance (GSA), and Latinos
Unidos are working together to
coordinate another Toy Drive.
For a staggering 23
years, the Canned Food Drive
has been welcomed onto Dana’s
campus. Jillian Burns,
Commissioner of Community
Service, worked hard with the
Second Harvest Food Bank of
Orange County to make the activity
possible.
Burns is heading yet another
drive this season- ASU’s
Coat Drive. Though the event
won’t begin until January, most
likely the 11th to the 15th, ASU
is already working hard to
spread the word.
Last year’s drive was
a success, raking in over 600
coats, but this year is going far
above and way beyond. While
Dana Hills was the only school
to participate last year, Burns
has extended it to other elementary,
middle, and high schools
throughout the district.
In addition to massive
drives, dedicated individuals
are also reaching out to members
of the community. Through various charity organizations
as well as Dana’s own clubs,
such as Surf-rider and Make-
A-Wish, both teachers and students
are getting involved.
For several years sophomore
Lauren LaVine has been
a regular volunteer for Tony’s
Treehouse, an organization
that combats poverty in Orange
County.
“It’s a great opportunity
to help out people in our
own backyards,” said LaVine.
“You’d be surprised by how
many people don’t even have a
place to live in Orange County.”
Junior Alexandria Anderson
tutors students weekly
through a program called
Breakthrough, in addition to tutoring
a fifth-grade girl at Hidden
Hills three times a week.
Explained Anderson, “I
think that continually working
with her has really improved
her abilities and that helping
younger students makes them
do better in high school and
beyond.”
Merritt Grimm, by volunteering
through his church
and World Vision Company,
has been able to help Kholosi,
a nine-year-old girl in Nigeria
living with HIV. “It’s not
as much a church thing,” said
Grimm. “I just want to help the
kids out there.”
When asked why he
chose to sponsor her out of all
the potential children in need,
he replied, “She’s the only one
who smiled in her picture and
had hope in her eyes.”
