News
December 12, 2018Capital Region BOCES Students Brighten the Holidays for those in the Schenectady City Mission
Capital Region BOCES students played the part of Santa’s elves recently as they delivered a sleigh overflowing with toys to the Schenectady City Mission.
The students — members of the SkillsUSA chapter on the Albany campus — collected toys in a full-sized sleigh on the Albany Campus since Thanksgiving. The SkillsUSA students also collected $800 in monetary donations, which they turned over to Capital Region BOCES Retail and Office Services Program students to purchase more toys and games for the youth of the city mission. On Dec. 12, they delivered all of the goods, which ranged from dolls to games and electronics, to the City Mission and volunteered in the Mission’s Christmas Toy store, helping the less fortunate pick-out toys to give to their children.
“It’s an eye-opening and rewarding experience for some of the students,” said SkillsUSA advisor Deborah Toy, who oversaw the effort.
Students agreed.
“It’s great to play Santa for the less fortunate,” said Amber Lupe, a culinary student from Mohonasen who took part in the toy drive.
“It’s rewarding to give back to the community,” added Briana Beisly, a culinary student from Berne-Knox-Westerlo.
The Schenectady City Mission’s toy store assists hundreds of families each holiday season.
SkillsUSA is a national organization for career and technical education students that promotes personal and professional growth and offers them the opportunity to compete at the local, regional, state and national levels. Capital Region BOCES’ has chapters on all three of its campuses, providing opportunities for its more than 1,000 students to take part in the national organization while also learning in one of the more than two-dozen academic programs, ranging from engineering to automotive to nursing, offered to students.
Besides Beisly and Lupe, pictured in the attached photo are Malcom Beniene, automotive student from Mohonasen, Raven Bryant, an internet application student from Schenectady, Samantha Dollar, a culinary student from Mohonasen, Kody Lieb, an internet application student from Guilderland, Taylor Murphy, a cosmetology student from Shenendehowa and Alex Slater, an automotive student from Mohonasen and Nikki Colaccino, a cosmetology student from South Colonie.
