NEW BEDFORD —  Students of the Old Colony National Honors Society gave Santa Claus a hand this holiday and helped deliver bags of toys to preschoolers of P. A. C. E. Head Start in New Bedford on Dec. 19.

Since 2013, Old Colony students have donated thousands of gift bags to the Head Start program in New Bedford and this year the students donated a total of 279 gift bags to the program. When the students arrived to drop off the gifts, preschoolers were told that the students were working as Santa’s elves to help deliver the gifts, according to National Honors Society advisor Marcie Gamelin. 

Donations for the bags were collected throughout the months of November and December at Old Colony. A major gift donation was also made by Toyota of Dartmouth and Check Collision. 

“I was absolutely thrilled and honored that I was picked to go and deliver presents to the Head Start program,” said Abigail Galas. “I have always looked forward to this time of year and collecting donations for the gift bags. It is most definitely one of my favorite times of year and one of my favorite Honor Society events.”

She added that she loved seeing the children’s faces light up when they were given the gift bags. This is the second year Galas has been involved with donating bags to the program and said that one gift bag can touch a child’s heart.