Spark of Love

Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles Honors Fire Stations 69 and 23 With Toy Donation

By JENNIKA INGRAM | Reporter

In the spirit of giving back during the holiday season, students from Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles Pacific Palisades Campus donated collected items from their annual Holiday Toy Drive to Los Angeles Fire Department Stations 23 and 69.

On a crisp sunny morning in December, members of both fire stations brought their fire trucks to the school to pick up the toys collected over the course of the drive.

All 62 children, ranging from kindergarten to second grade, who attend the school got to join in with the fun, meeting the firefighters and helping them pack up the toys.

“The children brought them toys and gave them plaques,” school parent Adam Hausman explained to the Palisadian-Post.

The plaques were a special tribute to thank the firefighters for their dedicated effort during recent fires and the following evacuations.

“The children spend almost two months collecting toys,” Hausman added. Then, the children passed the toys over to local Palisades firefighters to help with their citywide toy drive.

LAFD hosts an annual toy drive called “Spark of Love / Toys for Needy Children,” Captain Paul Egizi of Station 69 shared with the Post.

All over the city, stations work in unison to collect toys and drop them off to what they refer to as “toy central,” Egizi explained. From “toy central,” LAFD will receive requests from families in need and coordinate the effort to deliver toys.

Catherine Leloup, head of the Palisades Campus, spearheaded the effort to contribute to the local fire stations and present them with special plaques.

“Students from Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles Pacific Palisades Campus were very happy to donate lots of toys to the firefighters for the holidays,” Leloup shared in a statement.

Parents who participated felt the same way.

“I love the fire department, so I wanted to honor them,” Hausman added. “It’s a thanks and a tribute because they fought hard to keep us safe.”

“I have such great appreciation for the community and all of their generosity,” Egizi shared.

Kurt Vosberg, captain at Station 23, added that the toys go to a good cause and the team is glad to be a part of it.