This season, the Captains Council is giving back to their community in time for the holidays by donating toys to hospitalized children.

“The spirit of the holiday season is celebrating and spending time with the people that you love,” Athletics Director Jeremy Gilbert said. “But, it’s also about thinking about the individuals who might be going through some hardships.” 

The captains council is made up of every sport’s captain, from softball to football to wrestling. The group is teaming up with Scottish Rite Hospital for the 12th year in a row to organize a holiday toy drive to benefit children who will be spending their holidays in the hospital.  

“The gifts are going to all of the kiddos who are ill and spending their holidays in the hospital,” Gilbert said. “They’re really courageous and brave and they’re fighting whatever illness they’re facing.”

For senior water polo Captain Clark Gill, the project spans beyond academics and athletics. Gill’s father is a surgeon at Scottish Rite and Gill has volunteered there and seen the impact firsthand.

“Amputees and kids that come from Scottish Rite, they’re more appreciative than anyone I’ve ever seen,” Gill said. “It just makes their holiday season, and it makes me really happy to see that. Toys can bring a distraction and help them.”

Captains will provide drop-off boxes for donations of unwrapped toys. Students, staff and community members are encouraged to contribute stuffed animals, building blocks, action figures, sports items or any toy for any age.

“I am going to give board games because I know lots of the patients there love board games,” Gill said. “I also know lots of the young girls there love dolls, so I’m gonna get some dolls for them.” 

After the toys are donated and collected by the captains of different sports, all of them will come together and meet at Scottish Rite Hospital to donate them in person. 

“It’s super rewarding to go out and help people, especially during the holidays,” Senior Softball Captain Cecilia Knutson said. “To use our blessings in the best way we can to help others, hopefully it will bring some joy to a season that might not be so joyful for people that are less privileged.”

The captains council meets once a month to discuss how to be a leader both in their respective sport and in their community. 

“It’s a leadership opportunity, a reminder to our team captains and to our teams that regardless of whatever challenges they’re facing, there are people out there that are really facing more,” Gilbert said.

Over the years, students and athletes have participated in food drives, park clean-ups and fundraisers for local causes. This year’s toy drive continues that commitment to service. This drive provides a direct opportunity for the team captains to both share their humility and connect further with their teammates and other captains.

“It’s really important to me that we don’t lose sight of the responsibility that we have as Highland Park Scots, to be leaders that exemplify integrity and empathy and that we care about those that are struggling.” Gilbert said “It’s just something small that we can do to remind those kids that while they’re in the hospital, we’re going to support them.” 

Each holiday season, the drive continues to grow, with more students getting involved and more toys finding their way to children who need them most.

“Every year, the bins fill up faster,” Gilbert said. “It’s really a reflection of who our kids are and what this community values.”

As the tradition carries on, the impact of the toy drive reaches beyond the donations themselves, reminding students why service remains at the heart of what they do.

“We’ve seen how much this toy drive means to people,” Knutson said. “It inspires us to keep doing more for our community.”