December 18, 2014
To All Verona Families,
Thank you so much for your continued support of the annual Hawkins School Toy Drive at Verona High School. With the help of the other Verona schools, we were able to provide nearly 500 students from grades Pre-K to 4th grade with a toy for this holiday season! In fact there were plenty of extra toys so that the administration over at Hawkins School will be distributing these presents to other underserved schools in the surrounding Newark area. We will also be donating extra toys to the Verona Community Center to help those in need within our own community.
We, as advisors, are amazed every year by the energy that our student body brings to the toy drive within VHS and at Hawkins School. Our senior student leaders did a tremendous job of organizing and sorting the toys leading up to the toy drive at VHS, and then dressing up as Santa Claus and his helpers at Hawkins School.
The impact that a gift brings to these children is invaluable. For many, these presents represent the only gift they will receive for the holiday season. Seeing the joy and excitement on the children’s faces is a humbling experience for the students as well as the staff. Although the task to supply these toys on an annual basis is an enormous one, having help from a community as supportive as Verona makes the undertaking much easier.
With great gratitude, we write to you, the community, to thank you again for your generosity during this season of giving.
Sincerely,
Linda Barone, Jonathan Thai, and Patrick Bresnan
Coordinators of the Hawkins School Toy Drive
