When students from Gerard Hall went to Toys R Us on a shopping spree, Nathan Calder went straight for the fire trucks.
āWhat can I say?ā he shrugs good-naturedly. āItās a classic toy for a young boy.ā
Students in the Dalhousie residence on Sexton campus raised almost $1,200 for needy children last week ā $634.46 in nickels, dimes and quarters and $500 from residence council. Residence assistant Shevawn Desrosiers basically parked herself in the lobby of the residence last week, appealing to students as they came and went to donate their change.
āPeople really got into it,ā says Ms. Desrosiers, a design student at NSCAD U. āIt stirred up a lot of great energy.ā
And then they went shopping: loading cart after cart with coloring books, train sets, teddy bears, crayons, balls, Lego, science toys and My Little Pony. And the fire truck, of course. The toys were delivered during Saturdayās Parade of Lights.
āIt was a blast. We had four carts going at once and piling them high with whatever toys we wanted,ā says Mr. Calder, a community design student. āKnowing they were going to kids who donāt have that much made it all the more fun.ā
In total, students raised almost $2,000 for the Change for Children campaign among all Dalhousie residences, including $148 from Howe Hall, $500 from Risley and $196.98 from Shirreff Hall. Spearheading the campaign was Jessica Roy, Erin Dwyer, Aly Hirji, Lyndsay Russell, Lindsey Ward, Emily Harrison and Ms. Desrosiers.