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o H h- 'H O CM vH _Q C D O C D Every week we showcase youths in our community SEND US YOUR NEWS: If you are a youth and you have a story or photo to share, we'll do our best to publish it on this page. Email it to ablackburn@oakvillebeaver. com, along with your name and a brief paragraph about why you want to share it with our readers. & £ Q TD oer L U G O L U < o E o q JZ Teen collects thousands of toys for Philippine Toy Library by M arta Marychuk Oakville Beaver Staff c= o "co '(/) q C D A n Oakville teen has collected more than 5,000 toys locally, which will be donated to the Philippine Toy Library. Thirteen-year-old Julia Hyett, who attends Sunningdale Public School in Oakville, set out to do a toy drive to collect gently used toys with a goal of collecting 500 toys. The students at Sunnydale and members Shaarei-Beth El congregation stepped up to help. At last count, Julia had more than 5,000 toys, collected through her school, synagogue and neighbourhood. Julia is always looking for ways to make the world a better place, says mom Bonnie. Last spring Julia decided that she wanted to make a signihcant global impact and researched organizations throughout the world that would benefit from her efforts, Bonnie added. So this year, as for her Bat Mitzvah Julia decided to do a toy drive for her Mitzvah project. Bat/Bar Mitzvah projects mark a students moving to adulthood from childhood-- and are learning to be responsible. Julia searched the Internet for a project and saw the Philippine Toy Library. She liked the toy librarys mission statement -- providing opportunities for play to less fortunate Filipino Oakville's Julia Hyett, 13, is surrounded by some of the more than 5,000 toys she's collected for underprivileged in the Philippines. She originally set out to collect 500 toys, but has well surpassed that collecting at her school, synagogue and neighbourhood. | Graham Paine/Metroland children. The Philippine Toy Library was started by a group of friends in 2012 who took on the challenge of providing the experience of play to their Filipino children, especially who live in cramped and congested areas. Their goal was to transform idle spaces in villages/schools/parishes into fun and educational playrooms to keep children off the streets. Julia says the toy library provides children with an opportunity for learning by having fun. Bonnie says her daughter has always enjoyed working with children. She leads the parents and tots program at Shaarei-Beth El of ffalton, where her family belongs to the congregation. She also helps as a teaching assistant with the youth group and tutors every Sunday. "I was overwhelmed by the response," says Bonnie, adding the toy drive was an opportunity to do spring-cleaning and helping out a charity, all in one. She also credited the generosity of Julias neighbours, friends and classmates, for helping to make the toy drive a success. With so many toys now collected, Julia will be shipping them to the Philippines using a portion of the money she received from her Bat Mitzvah -- with help from a charitable partner. The toys should arrive in three to four weeks. For information about the Philippine Toy Library, visitwwwphilippinetoylibrary.org/. LO VERS Bring in this ad to receive You get just one funeral. Make it the one you want. You are unique. Your life is unlike any other. By pre-planning your final arrangements now, you can choose the options that reflect how you want to be remembered. What's more, you can save thousands of dollars and protect family from uncertainty about your wishes. Executor'sHandbook 10 % o ff p u rc h a s e o f 'The Joy of Bird Feeding" b e tw e e n n o w a n d Take the first step: Ask us about your FREE Planning Kit! TheL andTester 905-257-1100 D Lookforuson Facebook glenoaks.ca 3 3 5 0 F A IR V IE W S T R E E T , B U R L IN G T O N 9 0 5 - 6 3 4 - 7 7 0 0 · E M A IL : w b u 1 @ b e l l n e t .c a WE BRiNG PEOPLE & NATURE TOGETHER G le n O a k s F u n e r a l H o m e & C e m e t e r y by Arbor Memorial 3164 Ninth Line (403 & Dundas St.), Miss./Oakville, ON Arbor Memorial Inc. Family Owned. Proudly Canadian.