A real toy drive Supercar Sunday brings Motor4Toys to campus

KENDALL SHANNON Reporter @The_Valley_Life

Many parents fear the winter holidays because of the expectations of buying expensive gifts for friends and family.

In response, Pierce College hosted the annual Motor4Toys charity Car Show and Toy Drive with hopes of relieving the stress of holiday shopping and get people in the spirit of giving.

Dustin Troyan is the forerunner for the charity event, which has been running annually for over a decade. The charity event now distributes toys to 45 different agencies to help children. Starting at a small coffee shop and now at Pierce, Troyan’s Motor4Toys began with a group of friends at another popular car show.

“I threw a car show called Supercar Sunday and then we started asking everyone to bring toys one year and it was a huge hit,” said Troyan. “And now we’re the largest automotive toy drive in the world.”

Motor4Toys is 100 percent charity down to the donuts they sell to accommodate. Motors for Toys receives no profit from the program and is projected raise roughly a 100,000 plus, toys. Troyan claims the day will revenue 2 million dollars in toys for charity.

“It’s all about the kids,” said Troyan. “It has added so much joy, friendship, and understanding to my life.”

Troyan calls himself a big “community” guy. Some people have come from other states to be apart of this event. What you will see is everything from hot-rods to imported vehicles all owned by car enthusiasts alike.

“This is how the world’s meant to be,” said Troyan. “We’ve got the richest, the poorest. We’ve got every

EZZAT WANAS Reporter @EzzatWanas

A seemingly small room could help students achieve their big goals by connecting them with the resources they need to succeed.

The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s office created a hunger free campus grant that is giving community colleges money to address this issue of food insecurity on campus. Through the grant, the pantry is able to remain open, purchase food and get a student worker.

Since the pantry’s opening on Nov. 19, it has had a slow start while trying to gain traction on campus.

“The visitors that did come, we had meaningful interactions,” D’arcy Corwin, the Brahma Pantry coordinator said. “I would say as I’m learning and as we’re going, I feel the quality of our interactions are kind of having a slower pace and it’s giving us time to have more meaningful conversations with the students.” especially during the holidays. While the pantry won’t be open during the holidays, it will reopen during the start of winter session.

Since the program is new to Pierce, the program must figure out how to fit with the culture of the campus. This is what Corwin has been learning when she talks with students who visit the pantry.

For students, the pantry offers free food, CalFresh enrollment support, helps students find enrollment outside of campus and refers students to different resources on campus.

Although the pantry will be closed with the rest of the campus this holiday season, students are encouraged to look at the Brahma Pantry’s website.

The site will provide a list of food banks and resources students can access throughout the holidays.

“We are trying to make a difference,” Corwin said. “We will have a website soon that connects with different faculty members and department chairs. They connect with their staff and make announcement about our service.” color, every religion, every age. We’re all having a great time giving back and helping children.”

The pantry is a way for the administration to help students on campus seek the assistance they need.

While there are similar bodies on campus that work to help food insecurity, the pantry is unlike any organization.

“This pantry supported by faculty and staff members and students. The Students Against Student Hunger (ST.A.S.H) club helps unite who have access to food with people who have no food,” Philosophy Professor Christopher Lay said.

Since the pantry is funded through a grant, it works specifically for the students on campus to find resources.

Pierce Student Francesca Canales said the purpose for the pantry is very helpful, and even through it is new, she would refer it to classmates.

Troyan has many annual sponsors that cover the cost of the event.

Fast Intentions is one of the many companies who annually come to sponsor. Operations Manager, Kevin Verdina says they’ve been sponsoring for five plus years.

“The event is only growing,” said Verdina. “It’s family oriented, you can check out nice cars, and it’s a toy drive. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

People seemed to be reluctant to be apart of Troyan’s vision. He says that he had the idea one year but was too chicken to ask. Then the following year he did.

“It was like a giant miracle,” said Troyan. “I just said, ‘Hey guys, bring toys’. I can’t take credit for it, it sort of just happened.”