LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kelley Taylor says this is her favorite day of the school year at Lexington’s Christ the King, where she serves as Assistant Principal.
“It's just the most magical thing,” Taylor said.
This magical event is the school’s toy drive for the less fortunate. The school partners with the Catholic Action Center of Lexington to determine which families are most in need by using the list from the city’s McKinney-Vento program. Taylor was a part of this type of event when she was a student at Christ the King years ago. Now her students, who are the force behind this annual toy drive, are learning the same lesson she did.
“We're all very grateful for how much we have, so we like to give to others and we're learning about virtues of charity,” eighth grader, Lola Sturgeon said.
Students, from Pre-K through eighth grade, were asked to bring in a gift they’d like for themselves. Those gifts were sorted and placed in bags for families to collect later in the day. Each child ages 12 and under will receive two gifts from this drive, while the teenagers will get one larger item.
“Thinking that people can't have Christmas, and have that joy, kind of makes me sad,” Sturgeon said.
“It's so important for everyone to have that joy on Christmas morning,” Taylor said.
That joy was spread out on table after table, then placed into bags for pickup.
“We have 131 families picking up today. So happy we can bring some joy to others,” Taylor said.
