The Office of Student Media’s First Annual Handfuls of Hope Toy Drive on Dec. 18 in the Carl DeSantis Building from 5 to 9 p.m. will help underprivileged families in Broward County by allowing parents to choose free toys for their children.
Barbara Archat, first-year graduate student studying forensic psychology and station manager of SUTV, started “Handfuls of Hope” eight years ago in Indianapolis. Her goal is for 500 children, from infants to 14-year-olds, to receive toys this year at NSU. Parents will be able to choose three gifts per child while their children are entertained.
“A lot of times when you go to an event like ours, the kids are given the gifts,” Archat said. “So we like to empower the parents and allow them to wrap the gifts and to give their kids the gifts themselves.”
To ensure security while parents choose gifts, children are put into groups with a color-coded wristband. The volunteers will be assigned to a group of children and guide them from activity to activity while the parents shop.
“The kids will be entertained by volunteers, who are doing face painting, coloring, and cupcake decorating. The kids will be kept busy. The parents will be in a different room, on a different side, and they will actually be getting the toys for the kids,” Archat said. “The parents then take the toys to the car and come back and get the kids, and the kids never see the toys.”
The toys will be sorted by gender and then placed in separate rooms in DeSantis. Within each room, the toys will be separated by age group. The toys will vary from new bicycles to the newest Barbie dolls. Children will have the opportunity to sit on Santa Claus’s lap and tell him what they would like for Christmas and receive a gift from Mrs. Claus. Other children’s activities include face painting, a meet-and-greet with two Miami Dolphins players, and games.
RadioX Assistant Station Manager Tiffany Simmons, junior exercise and sports science major, plans on volunteering to accompany the children. She said the event helps people understand that the holidays are about giving back to those who are less fortunate.
“I’m really excited about having the opportunity to give back to other people — especially the kids because I love kids so much — and being able to see the joy and the light shining on their faces when they realize, ‘I can get a present this year and I will have a merry Christmas.’”
Sponsors will include NSU’s Kappa Alpha Psi, Cypress Bay High School, Jesus Experience Ministries and City of Harvest Church International Ministries. Two Miami Dolphins players are also donating money to the cause.
Archat said her dedication and hard work pay off when she sees the parents’ faces, overjoyed at giving their kids gifts. She will fly back to Indianapolis to lead the event on Dec. 23. Last year the event in Indianapolis helped 1,100 families. This year, her mission is to give gifts to over 1,200 children there.
Toy and money donations are being collected on campus at RadioX in room 104 of the Rosenthal Student Center and SUTV in room 102B of the Student Affairs Building, formerly known as the ASA building. For more information about NSU’s event or to volunteer, contact Archat at 954-661-7442 or barbara@therebirthproject.org.
