In winter of 2007, the Student Volunteer Center held its first Giving Tree donation drive. Through this event, SVC was able to deliver hundreds of gifts to the children of New Horizons School for homeless children, with gift sets including a heavy jacket, multiple sweatshirts, a blanket, multiple sets of long sleeved shirts and pants, a toy, and under garments. Community participation in the Giving Tree drive helped make the lives of children from New Horizons School more joyful during the winter holiday.

For the fifth annual Giving Tree donation drive, the Student Volunteer Center (SVC) collected winter necessities and toys for children supported by the Walnut Avenue Women's Center and at the Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Home. Beginning November 17th, SVC outfitted trees hosted by various UCSC departments, UCSC administration buildings, and local Santa Cruz businesses with ornaments detailing gift requests of seventy-nine children. Through the generous giving of UCSC staff and faculty, as well as local community members, SVC collected the following during our collection days, Wednesday December 7th and Thursday December 8th, in the Quarry Plaza: pants, jackets, sweatshirts, shirts, socks, shoes, undergarments, hats, scarves, gloves, books, miscellaneous toys, toiletries, art supplies, diaper packages, sports gears, onesies, and baby blankets. These generous donations helped bring a smile to nearly 70 children's faces, as well as alleviated stress for many of their parents under extreme financial strain this year that otherwise may not have been able to provide winter necessities for their children.

Thank you to the following tree locations and their participating staff: Human Resources Department, Humanities Department, Kerr Hall, Hahn Student Services, the Career Center, the Health Center, 2155 Delaware, 2300 Delaware, and the Women's Center.

For more information on this year's Giving Tree, ways to volunteer, a list of tree locations, or to sign up to receive information on a child who needs a gift this holiday please contact us.