USF Pre-Nursing students deliver more than 200 toys to Shriners Hospitals for Children

University of South Florida Pre-Nursing Living Learning Community (LLC) students delivered over 200 hundred toys to children being treated at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa.

The toys were collected from the holiday toy drive the students set up around the College of Nursing’s building during the holiday season. The toys were delivered to the hospital in decorated boxes, and it took three vehicles to transport them.

The hospital’s Director of Public Relations, Outreach and Marketing, Bethanne Demas, couldn’t be more thankful for the students’ generosity.

“I would like to extend a heartfelt thank [you to] the members of the LLC Nursing Program/Pre-Nursing [at] USF for helping make holiday wishes come true for our patients,” Demas said. “Because of your generosity, patients will have a holiday to remember and begin the New Year full of joy and excitement.”

The toy drive was part of the USF College of Nursing’s effort to collect new and unwrapped toys for children ages of zero to 17 years old. The students set up several boxes around the building where faculty, staff, and students dropped off the unwrapped gifts.

The students added a personal touch to every box by decorating them with holiday wrapping paper, drawing pictures of snowmen, and writing quotes on each one of them. The LLC students alongside those in the PRE-NUR University Experience courses also decorated a tree within the dorm living space, and placed paper ornaments with the names of children being treated at the hospital.

PRE-NUR University Experience courses combined forces with the PRE-NUR Living and Learning Community to help students understand the importance of service within the community.

“This service project showcased the dedication of our University Experience Students and LLC students who aspire to hold the position of nurse in the near future,” said Emmanuel J. Rivera, MHRM, University Experience Instructor and Academic Advisor for the USF Nursing Upper/Second Degree Bachelors Program. “The project has helped them see the value and meaning of service, especially in the field of nursing.”

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USF Pre-Nursing students kick off the holiday season with a toy drive