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Sydney Cromwell
OMMS Toys for Tots Drive
A member of the National Junior Honor Society at Oak Mountain Middle reveals how much students raised for Toys for Tots.
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Sydney Cromwell
OMMS Toys for Tots Drive
Students at OMMS raised almost $23,000 to give to Toys for Tots.
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Sydney Cromwell
OMMS Toys for Tots Drive
Students load a U-Haul truck with $23,000 worth of Christmas toys.
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Sydney Cromwell
OMMS Toys for Tots Drive
OMMS teachers lead the students in Christmas carols.
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Sydney Cromwell
OMMS Toys for Tots Drive
Students at OMMS bag the toys they bought for Toys for Tots on Dec. 11.
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Sydney Cromwell
OMMS Toys for Tots Drive
Students load a U-Haul truck with $23,000 worth of Christmas toys.
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Sydney Cromwell
Students load a U-Haul truck with $23,000 worth of Christmas toys.
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Sydney Cromwell
Students load a U-Haul truck with $23,000 worth of Christmas toys.
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Sydney Cromwell
Students load a U-Haul truck with $23,000 worth of Christmas toys.
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Sydney Cromwell
A Marine watches students load a truck filled with Christmas toys.
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Sydney Cromwell
Students load a U-Haul truck with $23,000 worth of Christmas toys.
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Sydney Cromwell
Students load a U-Haul truck with $23,000 worth of Christmas toys.
With the thunderous sound of students singing Christmas carols in the background, Oak Mountain Middle’s National Junior Honor Society filled a U-Haul truck with toys to brighten other children’s Christmases.
OMMS raises money for Toys for Tots every year. This year, eighth grade student and NJHS member Ryan Hall said the school raised $22,895 to donate to the Marine Corps’ annual toy drive. Students collected the money in a variety of ways, Hall said: lemonade stands, bake sales, neighborhood chores and door-to-door donation drives. This is the 12th year in a row they have surpassed the $20,000 goal, with the eighth grade class earning a pizza party for raising the most money.
“It’s great buying toys for kids who otherwise would not have a Christmas,” Hall said.
At 8 a.m. on Dec. 11, about 75 middle school students stormed the Hoover Toys R Us to buy gifts with the money they had raised. Hall said there were a lot of stuffed animals, especially large stuffed bears, but the kids could choose whatever gifts they wanted to give. It was Hall’s first year coordinating the donation drive, but he said he wants to continue participating in high school.
“We just went up and down the aisles and found everything we could get,” Hall said.
In a school assembly the same afternoon, $23,000 worth of new toys were piled in the middle of the gym floor. OMMS students gathered to listen to NJHS members, school faculty and former Miss Alabama Candace Brown.
“I am so impressed at how hard you guys worked,” Brown said.
Several members of the Marine Corps were on hand to receive the toys. Sgt. Harry Mendez, this year’s program coordinator and a second-time Toys for Tots participant, said the toys were taken to a Toys for Tots warehouse and then distributed through an area YMCA.
The assembly closed with faculty leading the entire school in Christmas carols while the NJHS students bagged and loaded their toys.
“They did a great job, fantastic job. Because of them, some kid whose family is struggling now will be able to have a Christmas,” Mendez said.