Students buy presents
for children in need
The fourth annual
Giving Tree project
gathers gift donations in
University residence halls
By Nicole Gallon
Oregon Daily Emerald
Festive jazz music pervades the
air as residents of Hamilton Com
plex, up to their elbows in ribbons
and wrapping paper, bustle about
like elves in a workshop.
Under their busy hands, more
than 60 toys donated by students
and staff members are wrapped,
ribboned and added to a growing
pile of presents that will be torn
open by the hands of needy chil
dren this holiday.
“It’s fun to buy presents for peo
ple even if you don’t know who
they are,” says junior environmen
tal studies major Lisa Low as she
wraps a Dr. Seuss book. “It gets
you in the holiday spirit.”
The unwrapped gifts on the
table range from baby equipment
and Barbie Dolls to Legos and art
supplies, with something for chil
dren of just about any age.
“It would be fun to see who they
were going to. I would love to see
the children’s faces when they
open them,” says junior resident
assistant Emily Bekken, one of
several residence hall staff mem
bers in charge of the fourth annual
Giving Tree program.
The program provides a chance
for students to donate holiday gifts,
which will be distributed to chil
dren by the Eugene social service
agency Centro Latino Americano.
It began with a single tree, deco
rated with lights and set up in the
University Inn cafeteria. The
branches were hung with tags,
each containing a gift suggestion.
Students could choose a tag from
the tree and buy a gift.
“The first year, the response
was amazing; students gave a lot
of good gifts,” says Carl Yeh, resi
dent director for Riley Hall and
initiator of the program. “It just
took off from there, and we kept
doing it.”
Since then, the Giving Tree has
grown to include three trees: one
at the UI, one in Carson Hall and
one in Hamilton Complex.
Everyone seems to agree that the
project has been a success.
“It’s been really fun. I was kind
of surprised at the support,” says
sophomore Courtney Misslin, a
resident assistant in Hamilton
Complex. “The amount of gifts
we’re getting is overwhelming.”
In Hamilton, the tags are disap
pearing from the tree almost as fast
as Bekken can hang them.
"We’ve had to restock the tree
with tags at least twice a week.
People are at least taking the tags
off the tree,” she says. She esti
mates that about 150 tags have
been removed from the tree, and
about 60 gifts have been turned in.
While many of the gifts are giv
en by individuals, some residence
halls donate a portion of their
funds to the Giving Tree. Bean
Complex has voted to donate $100
for both presents and gift wrap this
year.
Last year, Hamilton Complex
gave $300 for the project, and Bean
Complex donated $200, Yeh says.
Turn to GIVING TREE, Page 20A
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