The halls of AHS are decorated with festive boxes for the toy drive that is going on for the Shining Stars Foundation this holiday season.

The Shining Stars Foundation provides great social programs and activities year-round for kids with cancer and other life threatening illnesses at no cost for their families. The foundation works with AHS teacher and National Honor Society advisor, Andy Popinchalk.  They asked him if he would coordinate a toy drive in order to collect gifts for the kids in the program. This will allow their parents to enjoy the holidays without having to worry about being able to afford gifts for their children. Many AHS students plan to participate in the toy drive this year.

“I am buying a gift for the toy drive because I love being able to help other kids and make their holiday season as joyful as mine,” said senior Anya Barel.

Shining Stars is looking for gifts for kids aging from 2 to 20, such as gift cards, dolls, video games, and sports equipment. When buying the gifts, kids can earn service hours for the time it takes them to buy gifts and bring them to the school. They are asking for the gifts to be handed in unwrapped because they are allowing the Shining Stars kids to look at the gifts and choose the ones that they would like.

The toy drive is going on from November 18^th to December 19^th. The leaders of the project are hoping to collect more gifts than last year, in order to help many more families in the foundation.

“I am so happy to be helping coordinate the toy drive because it’s something little that I can do to make a big difference in the lives of kids living with cancer and other life threatening illnesses,” said senior Dominique Wojcik.