Migrant children at the Ming Zhu Migrant Kindergarten in Xujing recently received a much needed boost to their play time. An initiative by You Dao partner school Western international School of Shanghai in Qing Pu saw several hundred toys donated by parents and children at the international school and delivered to children who normally would not have the opportunity to receive such play items. The initiative was led by Michael Lee, a parent of a child in Kindergarten at the school who has witnessed children receiving lots of gifts each year where children eventually ‘grow’ out of the need to use them. “My son has so many toys that he would not miss some of them,’ Mr Lee said. “I believe it’s the same for many of the children.” He approached the class representatives at the school and before long, toys began to trickle in. Before long, the You Dao outreach office, recently opened at the school, was full of donations.
 
Grade 5 and grade 8 representatives from the school, along with school Director and You Dao Board member Todd Flanagan, WISS teacher John Cucinello and Mr Lee, at the invitation of Jay Lee from the Xujing Government Publicity Department, travelled to the local kindergarten to deliver the toys.
The representatives from the international school carried the toys to a designated room and before long, dozens of children were into the many boxes with total delight on their faces. Adults who took the opportunity to speak on behalf of the respective schools had little chance of quieting the children while votes of thanks were offered and received, but nobody cared. The sounds of happy children is somewhat distracting in the nicest possible way and it was a pleasant experience to stand back and observe children from different cultures and socio economic backgrounds playing together as one, irrespective of the divide.
 
A tour of the kindergarten followed before the international children boarded the bus for the return back to school. On the way back, one grade 5 remarked, “I missed school,” before he was gently reminded by his teacher, “this is school,” a testimony to the school’s strong focus on community outreach.