SUMMER STREET SCHOOL Student Council members, from left, Luca Travaglione, William Butler, Lila Catinazzo, Zak Hadzihasanovic, Valentina DePalma, Josie Charville, Jenna Gentile, Adriana Polcari, Ronika Salehian, Kelsey Murphy, Lilah Rose, Colin Davis, Clara Connors and Anna Gallagher proudly show off the gifts that were collected during the Toy Drive on Dec. 9. Missing from photo are Brigid Walsh and Sienna Elworthy. (Dan Tomasello Photo)
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Hundreds of gifts were donated to children in need during Summer Street School’s Toy Drive on Dec. 9.
Summer Street Principal Karen Cronin said the toys collected during the fundraiser were donated to Peabody-based Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger, which supports individuals and families in Peabody, Salem and Lynnfield who are experiencing a housing crisis and/or food insecurity.
“Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger has a program where they identify families who need assistance during the holidays,” said Cronin. “Families can go to Citizens Inn to select the presents that make the most sense for their kids. Citizens Inn is a great organization, and we wanted to support them.”
Cronin said Summer Street students, staff, parents/guardians and the community worked collaboratively to make the Toy Drive fundraiser a huge success. She recalled that the School Council, which is comprised of her, staff members, parents and community members, wanted to create more philanthropic opportunities for students this academic year.
“We wanted to connect students with the greater community,” said Cronin.
Summer Street School Media Specialist Alex Caram said the Student Council, which is comprised of 16 fourth-graders, worked incredibly hard to raise awareness about the Toy Drive.
“The Student Council generated a lot of excitement about it,” said Caram.
Cronin agreed.
“The Student Council helped organize everything in the school,” said Cronin. “They encouraged students to bring gifts for the Toy Drive during morning announcements every day.”
Caram said the gifts that Summer Street School collected included action figures, arts and crafts items, board games, books, dolls, Legos and sports equipment. A number of “Star Wars” toys were also donated.
“The Toy Drive was for babies all the way up to high school students,” said Caram. “The students donated some really thoughtful gifts.”
Cronin was blown away by the Summer Street School community’s generosity
“It’s overwhelming,” said Cronin. “We had to empty the large bins we were putting the gifts into twice because there were so many toys that were donated. We had students bringing toys in every day. It’s really great to see the community come together to help families who are in need. It was beautiful.”
Caram concurred with Cronin’s sentiment.
“We filled up all of the cardboard bins twice,” said Caram. “It was incredible. School Council member Alyson Mendese was nice enough to bring the first load to her house. Over the last three days of the Toy Drive, the students filled up the bins again. It was amazing. It speaks to how generous the Summer Street School community is.”
A large number of Summer Street School students helped Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger Senior Development Officer Rachel Leibowitz and Development Assistant Stephanie Johnson load the gifts into a box truck on Dec. 9. Leibowitz noted that the number of people seeking assistance from Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger is up 300 percent this year.
“We were so excited to have Summer Street School involved in our holiday Toy Drive this year,” said Leibowitz. “Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger, which is where all the toy donations will be going for the holiday ‘shopping’ days, is one of our programs under the Citizens Inn umbrella. These toys will be available to our Peabody and Lynnfield families who signed up for an appointment to come and shop with assistance from our holiday helpers, who are volunteers from the community. We are booked up solid, which has never happened since we initiated this event prior to COVID-19. We know that some people are unfortunately in a situation where they may not be able to pay their heating bill and create a nice holiday for the kids in their lives, so we want to help make that choice easier to take that challenge out of the picture for them. The kids at Summer Street did an incredible job helping with this.”
Students also went to Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger on Saturday, Dec. 10 to sort the gifts that were donated.
“We wanted to show students that the work doesn’t end after they make a donation,” said Cronin. “The kids were so eager to be part of the Toy Drive and really wanted to help Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger.”
Cronin said the Toy Drive taught Summer Street students the importance of giving back, especially during the holidays.
“Our community is larger than what our students know in their daily lives,” said Cronin. “We all have a collective responsibility to make a positive impact in the community, and you don’t have to be an adult to make a positive impact.”
Leibowitz concurred with Cronin’s viewpoint.
“By having the kids involved in this Toy Drive, assisting in loading the truck for the pick up and even helping with the sorting on Saturday, Dec. 10, they are learning an invaluable lesson of how even though they are kids, they can still make a huge impact in our community,” said Leibowitz.
Cronin also thanked Summer Street’s parents and guardians, especially the School Council, for making the Toy Drive a huge success.
“We could not have done it without the School Council’s help,” said Cronin. “The parents were incredibly helpful and generous.”
Summer Street School Council member Sarah Kelley said the partnership between students, families, educators, staff and Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger was “a great collaboration.”
Leibowitz noted that, “People sometimes forget that there are some families in Lynnfield who do need help from their community.”
“All these toys are staying within the community itself, and having Sarah Kelley being our cheerleader and helping bring awareness has been invaluable to Citizens Inn,” said Leibowitz. “We have many more volunteer opportunities at Citizens Inn — even for children — and it is a great opportunity for families to work together to make our small part of the world a better place during the holiday season and the rest of the year. If people are interested in volunteering, please visit www.timecounts.org/haven. Donations are always appreciated at www.citizensinn.org.”