A Denver middle school student is going the extra mile to make sure children in need have something to unwrap this holiday season.
Isaac Nieder is a seventh-grader at Denver's Jewish Day School. He recently completed a mitzvah project for Jewish Family Service to prepare for his upcoming bar mitzvah in January at the Hebrew Educational Alliance.
Nieder told FOX31 he decided to collect toys and monetary donations for the Bright Holidays program.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents have lost their jobs and need to provide for their kids," said Nieder. "I wanted to collect toys for children so they would have presents that they might not have been able to get for the holidays.”
Nieder's parents told FOX31 he emailed many companies and stores to ask for discounts and donations.
The toy manufacturing company Mattel offered a discounted rate for the Jewish Family Service on toys as a bonus to Nieder's project.
In the end, Nieder collected about $7,000 worth of toys and monetary donations that were used to purchase toys for Jewish Family Service client families.
When asked to share advice for other students looking to give back to their community, Nieder said, "Start as soon as possible so you have time to advertise and figure out all the details."
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