By Nicki Resnikoff

A box decorated with holiday-themed wrapping paper for the Holiday Toy Drive sat in the lounge from Nov. 19 to Dec. 4.

The toys that students donated were given to kids from East Los Angeles, ages 7 to 12, who attended United in Harmony’s Christmas party on Dec. 12.

In an e-mail to the student body, Judd Liebman ’12 asked students to put new, unwrapped toys in the box outside Director of Student Affairs Jordan Church’s office.

Liebman suggested dolls, board games and stuffed animals. United in Harmony did not want video games, because most of the children do not have the consoles to play them with.

On Dec. 3, one day before the toy drive was set to end, Liebman sent another e-mail to the community, saying that there were not nearly enough toys for all the children.

“These toys are very important to the recipients and we do not want them leaving empty-handed,” Leibman wrote.

Liebman sent the e-mail “to make sure everyone knew what United in Harmony really is.” In his e-mail, Liebman described United in Harmony as “a program that works directly with children under the poverty level and living in shelters.”

After the e-mail was sent, according to Liebman, many more toys were donated.

“We actually had to make an extra trip to the drop off site because of the amazing participation,” he said.

Cate Barsky ’10 was involved worked with the administration and made posters in preparation for the toy drive.

“It was a little slow to pick up, but I saw tons of toys,” she said. “I think it was definitely a success in the end.”

“It went really well,” Lara Sokoloff ’12 said. “Every kid left with a bag of clothes and a bag of toys.”