Jessica Rodrigues smiled as she reminisced about childhood Christmas memories.
“I used to get these kind of donation boxes when I was a kid, so those used to make my day when they would come and drop it off,” she said. “It would make my mom happy that we would get those presents and, you know, see a smile on our face.”
As an adult, Rodrigues helped organize her Early Childhood Studies program’s second annual toy drive at the University of Guelph-Humber.
She said all the donated gifts she received in childhood stood out to her.
“Even just the toothpaste, honestly. It used to be, like, candy-flavoured, and I used to like that,” Rodrigues said.
Zoe Collat said she remembered some of the donations, like Play-Doh or a Rainbow Loom, from her childhood and how she enjoyed them.
“I can’t wait for a child to open that under the tree one day,” she said.
Collat, also in Early Childhood Studies, said she helped with the first toy drive last year and remembered some of the donations.
“Squishmallows last year they donated, which I thought would be a good hit, Lego,” she said. “Yeah, just like some staples in childhood I think every kid deserves to have a chance to play with.
Rodrigues said this year’s toy drive donations will go to Ernestine’s Women's Shelter.
“Even the smallest thing would make even a mom, like, having to see her children open a present, like, really happy,” she said.
Rodrigues said when she was a child, she was grateful no matter the gift.
She glanced at the toy donation bin on her right.
“I think that’s something people might not realize, that children will be, like, happy and appreciative for anything that they’re given, especially if they’re usually not given that,” Rodrigues said.
New toy donations can be dropped off until Dec. 20 at the ECS Resource Centre in Room 318 or the ECS Office in room 308, Rodrigues said.
Collat said the toy drive is a “great chance to give back.”
“I know everyone’s financial situation is different, but a small toy can go a long way,” she said. “Some children don’t get that, and I think every child deserves to have a Christmas.”
