91��Ƭ��

Mission Joy Toy Drive culminates with festive drive-thru

The Christmas spirit is in the air at 91��Ƭ��. ��

“It’s beautiful,” said Tillie Burgin, the director of and the namesake of Burgin Elementary School. “I can hardly wait to get them back to the Christmas Store and put them on the shelves.” ����

Burgin was talking about the truckload of toys that is heading to Mission Arlington after last week’s first-ever Mission Joy Toy Drive that benefited the Mission Arlington Christmas Store.��

The district worked with the City of Arlington, the Arlington Fire Department and the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce for the drive, which culminated with a drive-thru event last Tuesday at the Dr. Marcelo Cavazos Center for Visual and Performing Arts.��

By the time the student performances were done and cameras had stopped rolling, 14 huge boxes of toys filled one truck, and another truck was needed for the bikes.��

“I’m really excited that there are certain opportunities we have here in Arlington that are really special, and one of those are partnerships,” said 91��Ƭ�� superintendent Dr. Matt Smith. “We have an amazing partnership with the city, police department and Mission Arlington, and we’re here to basically bring joy to kids. I don’t know if it gets any better than that when you see everybody in alignment working together to do great things for the children.”��

The drive-thru was the culmination of the toy drive that started with collection boxes throughout the district, fire stations, businesses and city offices. ��

The drive-thru’s frigid weather last week��didn’t discourage donors and volunteers. There were student performances from Blanton Elementary School, Boles Junior High School and Martin High School. There was also hot chocolate and cookies to warm everyone up. ����

With every vehicle passing through, the huge boxes filled up. ��

The collaboration exceeded expectations and means that Mission Arlington is getting a big boost.��

Burgin’s mission began 38 years ago to help our local community during the holidays. ��

“People were using their rent money to buy toys for the kids, and so we said here’s some new toys, turkeys and trees we’ll take them to you,” Burgin said.��

“Were always big supporters of Mission Arlington – anything we can do to help the community is the best part of the job,” said Lt. Jason Horne with Arlington Fire Department. “It’s a good feeling to see the kids and how their faces light up when they see the toys.” ��

director of member engagement��Elena Thaxton was excited that all the donations would stay right here in Arlington. ��

“This was a no brainer for us to participate,” Thaxton said.��“This was so special because we knew it was going to go right to our Arlington community for the Mission Arlington Christmas Store, and so to be able to see our kids here in the community receive those toys it’s just pure joy.” ��

Arlington school representatives knew they could count on their city.��

“It’s just reflective of who we are in Arlington,” said Aaron Perales, the executive director of family and community engagement for the district. “We knew when we asked that they would step up to the plate and support because they’ve done so over and over again.”

Perales has seen the heart-warming reactions of children.��

“It’s overwhelming just to see the smiles on their faces,” he said. “It seems very simple, but it means so much that they are having a Christmas, and you can see the smiles on the parents as well. It’s a great turnout – we’ve collected so many toys.” ��

Burgin was still trying to soak in the night when things wound down.��

“I never want it to stop,” she said. “We are surrounded with every possible group in this city because they want to help and give to children and make a difference. I just want to hug them. My joy is the community that loves all people.”��

from the Mission Joy Toy Drive drive-thru.