In a school where service projects abound, the month of January presented students with another opportunity to give back and affect their community. DECA, Key Club, and National Art Honor Society worked together with The Jared Box Project to collect toys for children experiencing medical issues.

“The Jared Box Project provides boxes of toys to children in the hospital to help them through their medical treatments,” said project organizer Helen Ye, a NASH senior. “Our donation drive allows club members to donate toys to the organization.”

The fundraiser began as a DECA project but grew into much more when coordinators Ye and Riya Boppudi reached out to AHN Wexford, where all the toy boxes were donated.

“The volunteer coordinator at the hospital, Mrs. Petras, offered us a lot of help and gave some insight into how important the boxes are,” said Ye. “They are used a lot in the emergency department, mainly given to preschoolers and toddlers.”

When working to fundraise for an organization, it is necessary to make sure the event is successful. For Ye and Boppudi, that meant getting as many people involved as possible.

By promoting the donation drive to members of Key Club, one of NASH’s largest organizations, toy donations increased significantly.

Key Club President Jessica Golden, a NASH senior, said that her group loved collaborating with DECA on such an impactful fundraiser.

“Our members did a great job donating toys to the drive, and I am really happy that we could help,” Golden said.

The final component to the Jared Box Project fundraiser was National Art Honor Society, who made boxes for the donated toys.

“I was so excited to collaborate with DECA and Key Club for the service project. NAHS has worked with other clubs before, and we were excited to do it again,” said Sadie Han, NAHS President.

Ye was especially pleased to see the collaboration be so successful.

“[The fundraiser] represented a lot of what we think community service should be about: spreading kindness and helping families through tough times,” she said.