Amidst the daily clatter of lunch trays and the students' loud chatter in the Cena cafeteria, a symbol of the Christmas holiday is stood next to the stairs. At first glance, it looked like a normal holiday decoration–a humble-looking Christmas tree. But a closer look revealed a bigger meaning: the tree branches held dozens of papers that contained numerous lists of presents that need to be bought to donate to children in need. This is the Toy Drive Tree, a student-led initiative, turning the school's most crowded area into a charity hub. The goal was simple: to prevent kids from waking up to no presents on a Christmas morning.
The tree's location was a calculated choice. Unlike academic buildings like Blackwell or Strong Hall, Cena seems like an ideal spot to catch everyone's attention.
"Cena is the most crowded area, and people might have a chance to catch an eye on the Toy Drive tree because they are not worrying about heading to class on time!" said Jessica Williams, one of the supervisors for this project.
Putting the tree in Cena also changed the mood of the whole building. With the presence of the tree, people could see and feel that Christmas was getting closer day by day; transforming the regular busy mood into a holiday-themed atmosphere.
The process is designed to be accessible. Kai Takeuchi, a student participant, elaborated on the donation process: "The process is kinda simple and easy, just pick a random piece of paper on the branches, buy the things on the list and put the unwrapped gifts in the basket next to the tree.” This way, people don't have to think what to buy for the children, they can follow the list and get what they can afford.
After receiving enough toys for donation, the gifts were delivered to Toys for Tots–a national charity organization who is responsible for distributing gifts to less fortunate children across the country.
This heart-warming project shows the generosity of our community. It's not just EF students, but the staff and teachers also joining in this activity.
"The EF Academy community is very generous, they are willing to donate the gifts that are listed on the card hanging on the tree branches without any hesitation," Williams said. Hesitation was rare when it came to giving help to others, and this demonstrates the spirit of EF Academy, which Williams is most proud of.
For the student organizers, the tree offers more than just a chance to help others; it also offers a perspective shift. As Takeuchi prepares to graduate, he noted that while his time at EF Academy is ending, the desire to help still remains.
"I will do something similar in the future," he said. "It is also a great chance for students to give back."
As the deadline approached, the tree is emptied of tags and the pile of gifts is grew. With the kindness of EF Academy and the determination of students and teachers who participated in this project, they materialized this project's goal and helped every family out there.
