Children of CHC EOPS Students Receive Toys for the Holidays
Publish Date: Jan. 19, 2021
The children of many 海角直播 (CHC) students will have a snugglier and
happier holiday season thanks to hundreds of generous donations to a toy drive organized
by San Bernardino-based Design West Engineering.
More than 300 toys were donated to the drive, set up to benefit the children of students
in Extended Opportunity Program and Services (EOPS), Cooperative Agencies Resources
for Education (CARE) and California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
programs at both CHC and San Bernardino Valley College. According 海角直播鈥檚 program
director Dr. Rejoice Chavira, the students enrolled in these programs at the College
are financially disadvantaged and holiday gifts for their children are not something
that most of them would be able to provide.鈥淭he reality is for our students the holidays
are difficult because they are financially strapped. They have to make a decision
with their limited resources 鈥� which is most important, food or toys?鈥� Chavira explained.
The toy drive was the result of donations from Design West Engineering鈥檚 own staff
and its client and industry partners and through an allocated budget for holiday gift
purchases. According to Jeremy Richard, an Associate at Design West Engineering, the
company has traditionally set aside funds to purchase holiday gifts for clients and
would visit with them near the end of the year. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic,
however, the firm felt it would be a better use of its funds to purchase toys for
the children of students at CHC and SBVC.
鈥淧art of this project for us (Design West Engineering) illustrates one cornerstone
of our brand focus: the four corners of customer service.These are Communication,
Creativity, Collaboration and Care. We have engaged in other community projects highlighting
each of the other concepts. This project is tied to care,鈥� he said. 鈥淪an Bernardino
is the most underserved population in the Inland Empire. And we want to use this project
to give something back. We design buildings, but we want our staff to be excited about
what our buildings do - they serve communities.鈥�
Shannon Stewart, Marketing and Business Development Manager at Design West Engineering,
agreed. 鈥淧art of our mission is to build better communities where we live and work,鈥�
she said.鈥淲e want to raise awareness of who we are and the needs of our community.鈥�
The generosity of Design West Engineering was serendipitous. According to CHC鈥檚 Director
of Institutional Advancement Michelle Riggs, 鈥淧sychology Club students normally hold
a toy drive and host a holiday party for the children of students enrolled in the
EOPS, CARE and CalWorks programs. Because all of our students are learning remotely
this semester, they were not able to do so.鈥� Fortunately, Design West Engineering
was able to provide the toys for the children this year. The toys were delivered to
the Colleges the week
before Thanksgiving.
鈥淭his effort by Design West Engineering is tremendous and is a clear demonstration
of what it means to be a partner to your community,鈥� said CHC President Dr. Kevin
Horan.
