The
season
of
giving
is
in
full
swing
at
Patriot
High
School.
This
year,
students
in
the
Key
Club
and
National
Honor
Society
(NHS)
helped
collect
over
350
toys
with
an
estimated
value
of
$7,000.
Members
in
the
community
participated
in
a
"Drive-By,
Drop-Off"
in
the
first
week
of
December,
collecting
over
100
toys
on
the
first
day,
and
over
300
toys
on
the
second
day,
including
over
$200
worth
of
gift
cards.
The
toys
and
gift
cards
will
go
to
the
Northern
Virginia
Family
Services
(NVFS)
Campus.
The
idea
to
gift
toys
to
the
NVFS
Campus
came
to
Sharon
Shipman,
social
studies
teacher
and
NHS
club
advisor,
after
she
saw
a
mom
asking
on
a
social
media
platform
if
anyone
could
sponsor
her
family
for
the
holidays,
as
they
had
no
money
for
gifts
this
year.
In
a
brainstorming
session
Shipman
had
with
students
and
after
doing
further
research,
it
was
decided
that
donating
to
the
NVFS
Campus
was
a
great
idea.
NVFS,
is
a
nonprofit
organization
that
provides
resources
for
the
homeless.
The
campus
is
a
family
shelter
located
in
Manassas
and
currently
has
92
beds
and
is
the
largest
family
homeless
shelter
in
Northern
Virginia.
From
their
website,
approximately
40
percent
of
the
shelter's
guests
are
children.
Patriot
seniors
and
club
officers,
Cy
Hwang,
Zahra
Malik,
Rishi
Sheth,
Kerris
Watson,
and
Melinda
Wong,
helped
to
organize,
collect,
and
promote
the
drive.
They
set
up
a
SignUpGenius
for
the
community
to
use
to
sign
up
for
gifts
specifically
requested
by
families
from
that
shelter
with
children
ages
5-18.
There
was
an
overwhelming
response,
and
the
students
were
touched
by
the
generosity
of
the
community.
Key
club
member
and
current
sophomore,
Mia
Donnan,
shared,
"I
donated
the
toys
because
I
feel
the
less-fortunate
children
deserve
a
magical
Christmas
just
as
much
as
any
other
child.
Donating
the
toys
was
a
simple
act
that
may
have
made
a
needy
child
happy,
which
makes
me
feel
good."
NHS
club
member
and
current
junior,
Peyton
Benoit,
recognized
the
importance
of
giving
in
these
challenging
times,
"It
felt
really
good
to
be
able
to
bring
joy
to
a
child
in
need
this
holiday
season,
especially
this
year
with
everything
going
on,"
she
shared.
Shipman
echoed
the
sentiment,
stating,
"The
community
really
opened
their
hearts
this
year,
more
so
than
ever,
maybe
because
of
our
current
situation.
There
were
families
bringing
in
$50
gift
cards,
and
one
family
brought
seven
beautifully
wrapped
gifts
for
children
in
need.
I'm
tearing
up
just
talking
about
the
acts
of
generosity
this
year."
For
more
information
on
the
Northern
Virginia
Family
Services
campus
or
other
ways
to
contribute
to
the
homeless
shelter,
please
visit
their
website.