Cape Cod teenager reflects on personal experience as she collects toys, gives back
FOXBORO - Tilly Peet works a collection box at the Patriots Toy Drive at Gillette Stadium with a smile. As fans approach the box on their way to the entrance, she asks them to consider the impact of their generosity. "Would you like to donate to children this holiday season?"
Paying it forward
Many fans do want to donate. They come with unwrapped toys, dolls, and games, filling the box. Tilly is quick to thank them for their contribution. For the 17-year-old from Falmouth, collecting toys is personal. It's a way to "pay forward" the kindness that she and her family received one Christmas when their finances were right.
In 2019, Tilly's older brother was hospitalized with mental health issues. Her mom took a leave from work to care for him. "People donated toys to us and that really had an impact on me," Tilly said. "Even as I younger child, I thought it would be really amazing to continue spreading that."
Since then, she has become a passionate volunteer. In eighth grade, she became a Project 351 Ambassador. In that role, she began leading service projects on Cape Cod. (Tilly currently serves on the Project 351 Alumni Leadership Council.) She volunteers at Camp Sunshine in Maine for children with terminal illnesses and their families.
A student at Sturgis Charter School (East Campus) Tilly is a member of the service-oriented Key Club. Rachel Todoroff is the club's advisor and the school's administrative assistant. "She is really good at encouraging other people to participate in a cause," Rachel said.
"Makes everyone feel welcome"
Rachel says Tilly also helps students who miss orientation at the start of the school year. On her own initiative, she created a welcome program to answer questions, show students around the school and mentor them. "That kind of character," Rachel explains, "affects everybody around. It makes everyone feel welcome, everyone feel known and everyone feel cared about."
Currently, Tilly wants to make sure that kids on Cape Cod feel cared about-no matter what they are dealing with. In addition to collecting toys outside Gillette Stadium, she has launched a toy drive at school. Items donated to the big box in the high school hallway will go to families that rely on services from the Hyannis-based non-profit organization Hands of Hope. Tilly also held a bake sale to raise money to buy toys. This year, she has a lot of celebrate. Her brother is in college and doing well. She says that, as a family, they have never been closer.
Asked what she hopes a child feels when opening one of the toys she's collected, Tilly smiles. "I hope they feel they deserve this and that they can see how much they are cared for no matter what situation they're in," Tilly said. "That they know they're loved and that they matter and have this magic of Christmas." She pauses for a moment and then continues, "I hope they understand how important they are."
