Another successful year of filling a bus with toys
The toys stacked to the ceiling with gifts. Photos by Kat Sheridan
Jayden Guzman, age 6, gives Santa a high five.
Santa and the Grinch encourage people to donate.
Two firefighters bring an armful of stuffed animals to help fill the bus.
The toys visible through the windows.
Eva Doyle and another middle schooler encourage people to donate.
One seat covered in toys.
Bryce Clancy and Brady Jackson interview the Grinch.
The firetruck filled with stuffed animals.
The bus filled with toys.
The Islands of Fun Learning Center brings bags of toys.
The toys stacked to the ceiling with gifts. Photos by Kat Sheridan
Jayden Guzman, age 6, gives Santa a high five.
Santa and the Grinch encourage people to donate.
Two firefighters bring an armful of stuffed animals to help fill the bus.
The toys visible through the windows.
Eva Doyle and another middle schooler encourage people to donate.
One seat covered in toys.
Bryce Clancy and Brady Jackson interview the Grinch.
The firetruck filled with stuffed animals.
The bus filled with toys.
The Islands of Fun Learning Center brings bags of toys.
What if Santa drove a school bus to pass out toys to all the good girls and boys? Well, that wouldn’t be Santa, it would be Jerry Pinto after the Fill-the-Bus toy drive.
Pinto started the drive 14 years ago. He included the police, specifically officer Kyle Costa, and it grew into the drive with the Dartmouth Community Media and Dartmouth High School media students.
Students ran the telethon with DCTV, with students working the cameras (with supervision from DCTV) and entertaining those watching with singing, interviews and DCTV videos. This year, they invited middle school students to participate in the telethon.
“Kids who don’t have a lot of time, don’t have presents or don’t really have that much family, I feel like it’s really nice to get to be able to to have somebody who’s still helping them,” said Eva Doyle, 12.
They featured films made by the students, such as a live-action retelling of the Grinch who Stole Christmas, where he steals the Chromebooks instead of the presents. Doyle played Max the dog in the film.
The drive is held outside of the Target on State Road, and the manager confirmed that there is a spike in sales of kids toys during the event.
The telethon was hosted by Paul Santos, who interviewed people who donated, students and faculty members of the public schools. Some guests on the telethon were Stanley Mickelson of the Select Board and Ross Thibault, the director of secondary education for the public schools.
Students who weren’t working on the telethon walked around in elf and Santa hats, encouraging shoppers walking past to grab a toy and donate. Santa and the Grinch made appearances, taking photos with kids and giving high fives.
The bus was nearly filled to the brim with toys by the end of the day, with an almost constant stream of donations onto the bus. There were Barbies, Disney toys, Bluey stuffed animals, bikes and so much more. Although the focus is on toys for younger kids, the volunteers ask for gifts for older kids as well, and gift cards so the teens can buy what they want. An EMS ambulance and firetruck showed up, filled with toys to donate to help fill the bus.
“A lot of us are fortunate for things that we have, other people don’t have the same luxuries,” said detective Christina Brum, “It’s nice to be able to give back, and I know everyone just has a good time doing this event that participates."
There is a wide variety of places where the toys go, depending on the year. Some that will be receiving gifts this year include privately owned daycares, St. Vincent’s Home, schools and church groups.
A yearly tradition that is less known than the drive is that Pinto and the police drive the bus around three times in the following weeks and pass out presents to the children they see, regardless of their financial status.
“Best part is going into the neighborhoods,” said Pinto.
