MOUNT VERNON — Surprising even themselves with their success, students at Dan Emmett Elementary collected more than 500 items in the school’s first year of participating in the Toys for Tots campaign. The student council hosted an assembly Friday to celebrate that success.
Pointing to the boxes filled with toys, council vice president Katie Phillips and president Paul Nimeth each thanked their schoolmates for their efforts on behalf of less fortunate children who live in Mount Vernon. Paul revealed the results of the friendly competition between grade levels: Kindergarten pupils brought in 14 toys, grade one contributed 32, second-graders donated 38 items, grade four students collected 143 toys and fifth-graders gave 24 items. The third grade classes beat all the others with a total of 265 toys and games.
Gunnery Sgt. Brian Hawkins, U.S. Marine Corps, thanked all of the students, then had all the third-grade students and teachers rise. He presented them with a “Champions” trophy for being the grade level with the best results.
Student council members, said advisor Emily Bradford, did not mind the time it took to sort the items into categories such as boys and girls toys, games and outside toys. Mount Vernon Fire Department Chief Shawn Christy, whose department will distribute the toys, accepted them with gratitude.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he said. “I’ll make sure all these toys go to a good home.”
