Get Real this Holiday Season

Dear Tulane Community:

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I know you will join me in recounting all the many reasons we have to be so grateful. From our extraordinary students to our world-leading researchers to our top faculty and staff, we Tulanians greet each day knowing our efforts are helping change the world for the better.

I believe the best way to give thanks is to give. The Tulane community shows that it believes this too through efforts such as the Staff Advisory Council's annual toy and gift drive. Toys collected at Tulane from now until Dec. 4 will be given to CASA for Children, which works with abused and neglected children in our area.

Please bring new gifts, unwrapped and in their original packaging, to one of these locations. You can also make online credit card donations or write a check to CASA New Orleans, CASA of Jefferson Parish, or CASA of St. Tammany Parish and give it to any drop-off contact person.

I believe the old toy was right when he told the Velveteen Rabbit that toys can become real when a child truly loves them. I can't promise that your gift will become alive like the Velveteen Rabbit, but you can be sure that your kindness will bring a smile to the face of a local child who needs it this holiday season. And that is as real as it gets.

Thank you for participating in this wonderful effort. I wish you and your family a happy Thanksgiving.