By Patrick Sweet ’19
From Barbies to your beloved bedroom Nerf hoops, no child went presentless under the watch of the Student Senate with their annual Patel Christmas Toy Drive. Providing gifts for kids of less fortunate families, Student Senate saw to it that nearly 1,000 kids receive a basic childhood Christmastime necessity on Friday, December 15th. About 700 gifts were presented to children in inner city schools, with the remaining ones going to children’s shelters or the Salvation Army.
But the goodwill does not stop with students dropping their gifts off at the high school; the experience of handing out gifts to the less fortunate gradeschoolers can be a moving experience.
“At the end of the day, we are able to make kids happy in a very unique way and make their Christmases a bit better than they might otherwise be,” remarks Junior Class President Dillion Gallagher. “It makes me realize that I’m very blessed, primarily because I’m able to help these kids have a good Christmas.”
Mr. Kelley, who moderates the drive, has not seen a lack in the student body’s benevolence. “I am always impressed with the generous spirit of students here at our school. I think that the virtue of generosity is learned well here.”
A thank you goes out to the Saint Ignatius student body, which brought gifts ranging from $5 to $10 over the past few weeks. Additionally, none of this would have been possible without the aid of Mr. Rakesh Patel ‘96, who donates $2,000 annually to provide wrapping paper, photos, and Santa suits for the event. Mr. Rakesh Patel made this donation in honor of his father, Shirish Patel, after whom the drive has been named, and has since prevented the spread of false heresies about ol’ Saint Nick.
So as you enjoy this Christmas break, do not frown over not getting the iPhone X (or whatever the hottest, most recent, unchanged piece of technology is this year); be grateful that you had something under that tree to begin with.
