A CORE VIRTUE OF Catholic school education is giving back to others in need. This long-lasting virtue is consistently on display at St. Hedwig School in Los Alamitos. The school’s 2025 eighth-grade toy drive fundraiser will benefit Families Forward, an Irvine-based organization, during the Christmas season.
Families Forward is a nonprofit founded in 1984. Sarah Ecsedy, a St. Hedwig middle school Religion teacher, first became aware of Families Forward when she and her family became involved in the Back-to-School Backpack and Christmas Toy Drive programs.
KIDS HELPED KIDS THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON, AS SEEN BY ST. HEDWIG SCHOOL’S TOY DRIVE FUNDRAISER. PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. HEDWIG SCHOOL
Recently, Ecsedy began having general conversations with eighth graders about Christmas. These conversations prompted her to contact Families Forward about getting involved. Ecsedy called this year’s eighth-grade class “very service-oriented” and the toy drive seemed like a good fit for this year’s class project.
The 55 eighth-grade students were divided into teams of three of four. The initial task was to prepare a slideshow for all TK through seventh-grade classes to explain the toy drive and how it would work. The teams created a flyer for students to take home to their parents, and the individual classes made posters to decorate their classrooms and hallways, promoting the program. Each class also decorated a large box to hold all the gifts they would be gathering for the Families Forward children.
Approximately 500 St. Hedwig School students participated in this program, exemplifying the idea of kids helping kids.
“It’s an opportunity to educate younger students on how blessed they are and that many children don’t have all the advantages they have,” said Ecsedy. “Projects such as the toy drive will be an annual opportunity to build a community of giving and service to others within the class and amongst the school.”
The drive concluded on Dec. 5, with over 1,500 toys collected. Ecsedy and some volunteers will deliver the toys to the Families Forward location in Irvine.
The eighth graders have many fond memories of this year’s drive.
“I loved spending time with my classmates, visiting classrooms to motivate the students and counting the toys,” shared Miriam Paul.
Classmate Finn Mehigan added, “It’s just so crazy that with a little bit of our time, so many kids will get to have a wonderful Christmas.”
Sydney Walters shared that the toy drive strengthens her faith and reminded her “not to take anything for granted.”
Eighth-graders Parker Christman-Kelley and Tiger Tsai also reflected.
“It’s cool to see how the whole school came together,” said Christman-Kelley.
Tsai added, “Speaking with little kids about helping others warmed my heart.”
Ecsedy summed up what this program means to the entire class by referencing 1 Timothy 4:12: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”