Campus & community, Campus news

UCPD spreads holiday cheer with drive donations

By Anne Brice

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For the second year, the UC Berkeley police brought some Thanksgiving cheer to student families in need, and already are gearing up for their spring toy drive.

The UCPD teamed up with Cal Dining to donate turkey dinners and gift cards to student families in need.

Members of the UCPD delivered turkey and stuffing, donated by Cal Dining, along with $40 gift cards to a local grocery store, which came from donations from UCPD personnel and UCPD Police Officers Association, to 30 families living at the University Village student housing complex .

Capt. Alex Yao says the fall drive was a good way for the department to connect with the campus community.

The fall drive was part of an initiative by the UCPD, Community United by Service , that aims to support the community. Last spring, the department received more than 700 donations for its first book and toy drive , and inspired a local high school to run its own drive and add their boxes of collected goods to the donation pool.

Chief Margo Bennett and a student from the optometry school, who donated many items to the toy drive, admire the mound of books and toys.

Chief Margo Bennett and an optometry school student who donated many items to the toy drive admire the collected books and toys.

The donated gifts were distributed to children who live in University Village and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland. As part of the drive, the department also collaborated with University Village to set up a lending library stocked with donated books.

The second spring drive starts in March, and Yao says the number of campus departments participating will be expanding. People and campus departments who would like to participate in the spring drive are encouraged to get in touch with Yao at alexyao@berkeley.edu .