Throughout the month of October, Middle Gate Elementary School kindergarten students collected bins of toys to support children at Danbury Hospital.

From Friday, October 10 to Friday, October 31, students in all four of the school’s kindergarten classes were encouraged to donate big stuffed animals, coloring books, crayons, dolls, infant toys, and more for Danbury Hospital’s Pediatric Unit.

To Middle Gate kindergarten teacher Alexa Calo, who helped organize the toy drive, it was a perfect bookend for their recent unit on the importance of play and caring for others. The two month long Toys & Play unit focuses on how toys can spread joy and comfort to kids of all ages.

As part of the unit, Calo said her class started a vocabulary project to work on their leadership qualities. For every letter of the alphabet, they picked a vocabulary word that would turn them into “little leaders.”

“Our letter C is all about caring, and it was as we were finishing up our Toys & Play unit that I thought, ‘What could be a good way to show that we’re caring as a class?’ So I thought it would be cool for them to donate toys to children in need,” Calo explained.

She then reached out to Danbury Hospital, whose manager of donor relations sent a wish list for the hospital’s pediatric unit. They also provided an Amazon Wish List with some additional suggestions.

Calo reached out to parents and caretakers about the toy drive in advance, and everything went off without a hitch. Students went home and picked out a toy they wanted to donate. With a three week period to donate, they collected a total of 60 toys between the school’s four kindergarten classes.

“And we talked about how it made us feel and how it was gonna make the kids in the hospital feel, and they were so proud of themselves,” Calo said.

Students decorated a box to hold all of the toys, even designing little cards that go around the outside of the box. Beyond wishing the children in Danbury Hospital well, the cards talk about how they can play, draw, or cuddle with the toy they got.

“We use all the vocabulary words we learned in our unit for the cards, too, so it was just a really nice way to tie everything together,” Calo explained.

Before Calo delivered the toys in early November, she asked her students how the children in Danbury Hospital would feel when they opened up their new toy.

Students excitedly raised their hands. Some hoped the children would know people care for them and are cheering them on from afar. Others wished for the kids to share their toy with other people or hold it so they would not feel alone.

“Sometimes the hospital could feel like a scary place, right? So maybe if they have a brand new toy to brighten up their day, maybe they won’t feel as scared,” Calo said.

She told her students that they can give to others at any time, and that there are people out there near and far who need a little extra help. Calo pointed out FAITH Food Pantry as a place where they can bring in canned goods and other items to support their community.

Calo said she was grateful to see kindergartners get so passionate about the food drive, especially her students, who she affectionately calls the “Calo Crew.”

“We’re also gonna adopt a family for Thanksgiving and help them out with their Thanksgiving meal, so this is just the start to all your donations,” Calo told her class. “It’s just a really nice way to show that we care about others, that our actions can make a real difference.”

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.