The 10th annual Warriors Together Toy Drive capped another successful season with the collection of 700 items to be distributed during the holiday season to kids in Turlock.
This was the third year the University’s Program for Academic & Career Excellence (PACE), through a Service Learning program, has overseen the campus toy collection, which feeds into the Turlock Together project.
“It’s important because it’s one of the few programs in which we get participation from positively everyone — staff, faculty, students and retirees,” said Lori Cole, PACE program specialist. “It definitely is a morale booster and I think it has that effect on everybody involved.”
Cole offered special praise to Housing and Warrior Athletics for their participation, and presented a special Secret Santa award to John Tillman, Director of Institutional Research.
According to Salvation Army Major Debi Shrum, Turlock Together this year will collect toys from 18 participating groups and present more than 6,000 toys to roughly 1,800 families.