When asked to help someone in need, the Benjamin Family never fails to lend a helping hand. Every holiday season, The Benjamin School has it’s annual toy drive. However, this year it is a bit different. This year, students were asked to bring in adaptive toys for Arc to help children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Adaptive toys are toys that have a switch or button, to help children learn cause and effect.

Instead of reaching out to the same groups of people in need each year, Benjamin receives applications from nonprofits for their help. “We have a committee of administrators to see who would be a good fit for this year, and the Arc applied and they seemed like a good fit for us, and they were chosen because first of all they are a wonderful organization and they have been serving people with disabilities in Palm Beach county for decades, and they were able to meet our criteria for what we look for in an organization,” said Poncy.

Understanding that it is important to help those who are less fortunate and those who have learning disabilities is crucial. “I think it is a worthy cause because it is for children who may not be able to afford toys,” said sixth grader Ilia Peck. 

Compassion for others is an essential key to life. Sage Ponchock, an eighth-grader and student council president says, “I think that all people should be given a chance to have toys that they love and can understand.” 

Community service benefits everyone in the long run. When you do a good deed, it comes back around. TBS starts encouraging these behaviors at a young age. “Performing community service is an important part of Benjamin’s philosophy. So much so that it is in the school’s mission statement and the concept of community service is based on numerous research studies that show young people learn more and gain a greater degree of personal maturity when they apply their developing skills to meaningful real life situations and so not only do students grow in terms of maturity, but they also grow in their interactive skills and the development of new interests and abilities…” says Susan Poncy Director of Student Services.

Students also understand why community service is so important. Ponchock says, “Community service is great for helping people get a perspective on other people’s life.” 

The Benjamin School has been doing toy drives to help the community since the beginning, and this year you can help by donating adaptive toys by December 13. When it comes to helping those in need, the TBS community is nulli secundus, second to none.