As the holiday season approaches, Michelle Paul, a cybersecurity major, struggles to find a way to be able to enjoy the holidays while trying to balance costs.
“(I am) currently a CalWorks student with limited and fixed income,” Paul said. “Three out of my four kids’ birthdays are soon (and) with the holidays coming up, it’s a lot.”
To her surprise, Paul found an email in her inbox promoting a free gift exchange that wanted to give back to those who might be struggling to give or receive gifts during this time of the year.
“This is definitely something that could help me out,” Paul said. “I just found out about it yesterday and made sure to put it in my calendar to come over and check it out.”
Throughout the month of November, Professor Christy Ball and her English students planned the exchange and collected donations from students and staff such as clothing, children’s toys, and other items in preparation.
Can’t see the video? Click here. A shorter version is available here. To read a transcript, click here.
The event kicked off in Curran Plaza on Nov. 19. Tables were spread across the plaza with all of the donations, including a table for the students to help wrap the items for those planning to gift what they got.
Students in Ball’s first English class that is held from 11:10 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. helped set up the event and ran the beginning of the event until the other English class showed up.
The second English class that is held from 12:45-2:10 p.m. helped run the end of the event, clean up and transport the leftover supplies to the Science Building.
Dianna Elbadawi, a Global Health major and a student in the class, expressed hope that people will come together and provide support for one another through the event.
“We want the outcome to be a full community effort in order to help different people that share the same struggles,” Elbadawi said. “(We want) to be able to connect with people during the holiday season.”
Elbadawi explained that they have been learning about about the effects of consumerism on the world through documentaries, discussions, and articles since the end of October.
“It really showed us how much consumerism has fucked up everything,” she said.
After learning about the negative consequences of consumerism, the class was inspired to host the event to combat the issue and also spread awareness about it.
“The biggest goal is to make people more aware of how problematic fast fashion really is, not only economically but also environmentally,” Elbadawi said. “(We are) making sure that we are creating a space where more people are aware of what they’re consuming.”
To continue the festivities of giving back during the holidays, Welcome Home City has been collecting socks throughout November to keep unhoused students warm as the weather becomes colder.
Welcome Home City will be distributing the socks during the Hunger and Homelessness Fair on Nov. 20, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gorton Quad.
The event welcomes underprivileged students to receive assistance on information to reach their academic and personal goals.
This story was edited by Samira Hassan and Gabriel Vasquez.
Correction, Dec. 16: This article has been updated to reflect the classes’ involvement from learning about consumerism throughout the end of October up until the event and to amplify both classes’ involvement in the project. City Times regrets the error.
Update, Dec. 16: The story has been updated to include a video embed, as well as direct link and transcript.
