Students from the Living and Learning Communities at the College of Charleston filled 70 backpacks with toys and raised $1,800 this year during the 2012 HALOS drive.  HALOS (Helping And Lending Outreach Support) provides assistance to abused and neglected children and their caregivers. This brings the total the College has donated to the nonprofit over the past four years to nearly $12,000.

“We were thrilled to partner with the Charleston Battery on this project, and our Resident Assistants did an excellent job in getting the students from McConnell Residence Hall and the Block on Bull houses involved during the four week donation drive,” says Bruce Fleming, Director of Living and Learning Communities. Living and Learning Communities were launched in 2008 and integrate in-class learning with out-of-class experiences through themed academic and social programming.

The students also donated travel sized items like toothbrushes, tooth paste, shampoo and hand sanitizers to create “medi kits”. “This is the perfect way to introduce new students to a tangible project that demonstrates how they can make an impact during their four years at the College,” Fleming says.

HALOS Executive Director Kim Clifton ’94 says, “I appreciate the staff challenging the students to think beyond the ‘walls’ of the school, about the context of the larger environment in which the college sits and the people who are a part of this community.”

Each year, approximately 2,000 children in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties receive holiday gifts as part of the HALOS Holiday Program. “We rely completely on community giving and participation to make this possible,” Clifton says. “We are thrilled that the College of Charleston is a partner in this great effort.”

“We think this is a fantastic program and are glad we have been able to assist the College in making it a success,” says Charleston Battery’s Director of Marketing Whitney Woods. “We are looking forward to expanding our contribution to this project in the future.”

For more information about the Living and Learning Communities, contact Bruce Fleming at 843.953.6310. For more information about HALOS visit charlestonhalos.org.