Sigma Lambda Beta is hosting a toy drive that is being held through Dec. 6 with five drop-off locations across the UNK campus. Gifts will be donated to United Way and should be unwrapped and unopened.
The event was started with the help of Sebastian Dones, the community service chair for the Zeta Gamma chapter of Sigma Lambda Beta.
“This idea came to light realizing we could use UNK as a drop-off location to get the whole campus involved,” Dones said.
Sigma Lambda Beta has partnered with United Way in the past with their annual Coat Drive, but this is the first year of the toy drive. The idea came about through casual conversation about United Way’s city-wide toy drive. Dones saw the opportunity to create multiple drop-off locations on campus to spark campus engagement and get students involved with something familiar to their childhoods.
“As kids, we have all had that immense joy of waking up on Christmas day and opening presents,” Dones said. “So why not share that joy we’ve all had with these kids who aren’t so lucky?”
Dones, as well as Sigma Lambda Beta and United Way, ask students to drop off unwrapped gifts to any of the five locations across campus: the Nebraskan Student Union, the Health and Sports Center, the Calvin T. Ryan Library, the College of Education and West Center by Brewed Awakening. Once the drive ends, the toys will be wrapped and gifted to kids in the Kearney community.
Francisco Acosta-Garcia, the president of Sigma Lambda Beta, knows the emotional impact of the holiday season and the importance of helping others.
“The holiday season is seen as a season of giving,” Acosta-Garcia said. “Being able to give back if we are in a position to be able to is a great way to bring joy to families this holiday season.”
Sigma Lambda Beta will also be hosting two more philanthropic events this academic year. The Annual Beta-Man Conference will be focused on middle school boys across Nebraska to teach the importance of higher education and life lessons. The goal of the event is to empower young boys and allow them to create the best version of themselves.
They are also adding a CPR training event in the spring that is inspired by their national philanthropy event – the Victor Correa CPR Awareness event. The CPR training seeks to showcase the importance of being CPR certified to potentially save someone’s life. The CPR event has not yet been finalized, but students can be on the lookout for more information in the spring.
As for now, students can help get involved on campus with their toy drive going on.
