Passaic County Technical Institute's Holiday Drive Collects 1,500+ Toys for Children

Press release:

Passaic County Technical Institute (PCTI) is shaking up the holiday season in a very big way, with their incredible Toy Drive initiative!

For years, faculty and staff of the career and technical high school partnered with Catholic Family and Community Services of Paterson to collect toys for twenty-five needy children. Now the initiative has expanded and students have gotten in on the action. Their tireless dedication to the cause will provide more than 1,500 children with a great reason to feel the holiday cheer!

It all began when PCTI Principal, Dr. Michael Parent, issued a challenge to freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. In just six days, from Dec. 12 through 19, he asked that students drop off new and unwrapped toys for the less fortunate. The graduating class that collected the most toys would earn their very own Spirit Day—a time in which students can wear attire boasting school pride rather than their usual uniforms. He also added that if more than 750 toys were collected, that an additional Spirit Day for the entire student community would be added to the calendar.

Needless to say, the final number of PCTI’s Toy Drive far exceeded all expectations. Seniors were the winners, collecting a total of 541 toys!

PCTI’s Teen Pep students were assisted by the Student Leadership Council in organizing and tallying the daily donations. Due to the generosity of students and staff, the high school was also able to donate toys to the children of the Wayne Head Start program.

Photo Caption: Teen Pep students of Passaic County Technical Institute from Clifton, Haskell, Hawthorne, Little Falls, North Haledon, Passaic, Paterson, Prospect Park, and Wayne, gather around the school’s collection of donations for the Toy Drive event.