Photo: Courtesy of Maria Landron
Maria Landron, Palm Beach Atlantic University Alum and Women of Distinction Scholar, is holding a holiday collection drive for refugee and immigrant kids. Her goal is to collect over 500 toys, clothing items, shoes, books and more gifts for toddlers to 16 year olds this holiday season. She partnered with Palm Beach Atlantic University’s CKI, a college service leadership program supported by the West Palm Beach Kiwanis Club.
Landron was inspired to create the holiday drive from her own experiences. She remembers her first Christmas in the United States after moving from the Dominican Republic and how nervous she was that her family would not be able to celebrate with a Christmas tree or presents.
“I think that every single kid deserves the opportunity to play and to dream. Every child deserves to experience being a kid,” she said.
Landron curated an Amazon wishlist for the holiday collection drive. Popular toys from last year’s drive, future career books, toys that help with emotional learning, social learning and imagination are also on the list. She encourages people to donate gifts for kids in the older age range as well.
“I really want the kids to not have to go through the struggles that I went through. If I can ease that and help a child find their way, make the experience a little bit more bearable and less traumatizing that’s really important to me,” she said.
The toys will be distributed to the Esperanza Community Center which serves the Northwood area of West Palm Beach. The center serves over 100 children and their families during the holiday season. Landron says this is the organization of her dreams.
The Esperanza Community Center provided essential services during the pandemic like educating workers and their families about vaccinations and staying safe.
Founded in 2019, the center’s mission is to empower Northwood day laborers and families Esperanza offers seven programs, focusing their work on adult education, wage theft, food and nutrition, and healthcare. The center serves on the City of West Palm Beach’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
The 22-year-old is no stranger to community projects. Landron led the historical census result in the Village of Royal Palm Beach which achieved the highest census rate in Palm Beach County of 70%. This placed the village in the 93rd percentile in the state in 2020.
The census aids communities in determining funding for libraries, local centers, Medicaid, and the number of seats a district receives in the U.S. House of Representatives. She interned for the city and had to be creative when halfway through the census campaign in March 2020, COVID started.
Her previous plans involved a "Build Your Future" Lego event at the library and an essay contest for second-grade students. Landron took the initiative to teach children about the census and posted graphics every week withcensus updates.
Landron knew that by teaching kids about importance of the census and what it means to be counted as part of your community they would remember and continuously fill out the census every 10 years.
She spoke with communities that she knew would be interested in participating in the census and learning more about it. When creating resources and messaging, Landron took into consideration minorities and people who did not have English as their first language.
She created printed materials in multiple languages and had homeowner organizations send email reminders to their residents.
She was named one of Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Women of Distinction Scholars and received the scholarship due to her work with the community with immigration and the census. Landron is also on the international board of trustees for Circle K International, an organization sponsored by Kiwanis.
“I was shocked. I was super excited when I got the award,” she said.
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