Pirates really angels

Andrew Edwards

Low-income children in Costa Mesa need toys, and a pair of Pirates

are leading an effort to make sure needy youngsters have their share

of action figures, dolls and games this Christmas.

Two Orange Coast College students, Anh Hoang and Kristina Bonnett,

both 19, are in charge of the Angel Tree Project, the school’s

toy-collection drive. Both young women are active in student

government.

“Those two girls are shining stars,” said Kathleen Burton, an

advisor for the Associated Students of Orange Coast College. “They

are two of the best I’ve ever seen as far as getting stuff done,

working together.”

The girls are leading about 40 students in an effort to collect

toys. The gifts will be donated to the children of low-income Orange

Coast students and to youngsters at Costa Mesa’s Heritage Home, which

serves women recovering from addiction. Gifts also are being

collected for the Costa Mesa Senior Center and children at an Anaheim

location.

The two friends wanted to take a lead role in the project after

they volunteered last year.

“We felt that we really connected with the kids, and we saw their

faces when they met Santa,” Hoang said.

Hoang said she had an easier time on the project last year, since

she was not responsible for details, though she has come to enjoy

organizing her team of volunteers.

“I like planning out what we need to do,” she said.

“She’s a list-maker,” Bonnett chimed in.

Trees went up at the end of October, decorated with wish lists

instead of ornaments. Students, or anyone else on the Orange Coast

campus, can pick up a list and find out what a local child or

teenager hopes to find under the tree. The gifts can be dropped off

at the college.

At first, only a trickle of toys was being donated, and volunteers

worried their effort would come up short. As Christmas has drawn

closer, though, Hoang and Bonnett have been almost overwhelmed by a

torrent of gifts.

“The first few weeks, we were kind of slow, but since the middle

of November, the gifts have just been pouring in, and we can’t keep

up with the wrapping,” Bonnett said.

So far, the students are on pace to collect about 2,000 gifts,

Burton said.

What are the big items?

“We have a lot of teddy bears, and Spider-Man figurines are really

popular this year,” Hoang said.

With so many presents being donated by students, Bonnett said she

is inspired by her peers’ generosity.