The freshman AVID class is doing their annual service learning project. Last year the freshman collected school supplies to send to a school for underprivileged children in Honduras. This year they are collecting toys that will be sent to ill children at INOVA Hospital.

“Every year we do a service learning project, and every year we have the same process,” AVID coordinator Laura Wells said. “The students divide into groups, they choose a topic, they research it, and then the class votes on the one they want to do.”

Freshmen Yaremy Sejas was one of the students that came up with the idea.

“They toy drive is for sick children that are not allowed to leave the hospital,” Sejas said. “We thought it would be nice for them to not feel so homesick and lonely, and that it would be nice for them to have something to keep them happy and busy.”

Freshmen Hidy Amaya, who also took part in that project, spoke about it too.

“We had a variety of choices for our service project” Amaya said. “We researched everything from dog shelters to homeless people, but it was the kids that caught our attention in the end. We figured that the kids in the hospital need attention and some sort of comfort. We wanted to make them feel better and give them some support for what they were going through.”

AVID is looking forward to donating the toys and helping ill children in anyway they can. The toy drive will last until the end of February. Toys can be donated to Room 90 and must be new and unopened.