For the past school years, the Barlow’s Leadership team has had the KGW Toy Drive, which started on November 29th up to December 13th. 

Like every year, the annual KGW Toy Drive was back and put on by the leadership team and April Anderson, the athletics director. It started on November 29th and went up till December 13th. The bins were located outside the commons and the main office for people who drove by and wanted to donate.  This toy drive has been going on for at least ten years. Multiple schools partake in this too, so it’s just not Barlow. KGW has been offering schools to do toy drives since back in the day. They would go out to schools and film the assemblies. Recently, they started getting involved in the community as well. They have over one hundred different charities that allow you to donate, including Toyota dealerships, small businesses, Fred Meyers, IKEA, collection sites, and many more. Once they have collected all the toys, they distribute them to several charities like churches, non-profit organizations, family services, and food banks. Anderson says, “the point of this is to give back to the community,” which is why they have so many places to donate at. 

Last year during online school, the toy drive was still being held at Barlow. Anderson thought that there wouldn’t be many things collected because of online schools, but many things contained. There were 13 bags full of toys, they had put bins outside the school so they wouldn’t have to come inside the school, and there were some ways that the bins were filled up. It was very successful last year, and for this, their goal is to get more than last year.  You can donate many things, including anything for little kids up to 18, items for boys and girls, and something that teenagers would like. Leadership and Anderson are very excited for this year, and they are hoping they raise more donations than last year. “I’m excited for the opportunity for Barlow students to support others in their community,” Anderson says. 

The toy drive starts on November 29th up to December 13. The past toy drives have been very successful; Anderson and the leadership team hope this year will be too. Many people come out and donate, so they are hoping you will too.