University of Massachusetts Dartmouth student Dorothy Mahoney-Pacheco was first challenged to develop a "change agent project" in her classes before deciding to team up with fellow Fall River natives for a toy drive.

Mahoney-Pacheco — a UMass senior, Endeavor Scholar, and Sociology major with minors in Business Administration and Leadership/Civic Engagement — developed a Leaders in Training program at Holy Name School in Fall River.

The L.I.T. project is designed to cultivate strong leaders through training, empowerment, and service, said UMass officials. With a team of 25 Fall River middle school students and 20 parent volunteers, Mahoney-Pacheco collected two truckloads of toys, clothes, and other items for donation.

The team plans to deliver the goods to Gifts to Give, located at 1 Titlest Drive in Acushnet, on December 20.

The Gifts to Give project is the largest service project the Leaders in Training students have worked on to date, according to UMass officials.

After unloading the gifts at Gifts to Give, the students will visit with Gifts to Give staff for a lesson on poverty and service, and then spend some time volunteering in the facility.

UMass Dartmouth students annually contribute more than 230,000 hours of service to the community, said university officials.