The Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life at Binghamton University is hosting a toy drive until Dec. 14 to provide children suffering from cancer with gifts for the holidays.
The toy drive, “Light up a Life,” is being led by the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and the Sigma Delta Tau sorority in conjunction with the Chabad Center, and has been an ongoing event since Nov. 11. The goal is to raise $4,000 worth of toys by Dec. 14.
The toys will be donated to an organization named Chai Lifeline and then distributed to children suffering from cancer.
Chai Lifeline is a Jewish organization that strives to bring happiness to seriously ill children and and provide the most normal life possible for them.
“It is a very rewarding experience to be able to put a smile on a child’s face, especially during the holidays,” Dayna Driscoll, a sophomore majoring in linguistics, said. Driscoll is organizing the toy drive. “I feel like so many people, including myself, take things for granted and it’s amazing to see how happy something as small as a game of Monopoly can make a child.”
The Grand Chanukah Bash, which will take place in the lobby of the Old University Union at 6 p.m. on Dec. 14, marks the end of the toy drive. There will be a display of the toys, and a 10-foot LEGO menorah will be erected.
To create the menorah, student-volunteers will use thousands of LEGOs, which have to be specially ordered because so many pieces will be needed.
Students are building different parts of the menorah, which will be brought together to form the giant menorah at the Chanukah Bash. Afterward, the menorah will be dismantled and distributed to the children.
Rabbi Levi Slonim of the Chabad Center at BU called the toy drive “an absolute success.”
“It has been overwhelming to see and experience the outpouring of enthusiasm from the students,” Slonim said. “The students are excited to get involved because it is an issue that is close to our hearts.”
To donate, you can purchase an unopened toy and drop it off at the Chabad Center on 420 Murray Hill Road. They can also be dropped off at the Chabad table in the New University Union, where students can also purchase a toy. Monetary donations are also accepted at the table or via the Chabad Center’s website, www.jewishBU.com/toydrive.
“It is a great way to take a fun holiday and turn it into something meaningful that will leave a lasting impression and put a smile on someone’s face,” Slonim said.