Fraternity plays Santa for the holidays

This weekend, members of Acacia fraternity stood in front of Wal-Mart and Kmart stores across Bloomington to collect donated toys for underprivileged kids in the community. The occasion was the fraternity's yearly philanthropic event, "Acacia Claus." Members handed out candy canes, sung Christmas carols and danced for the stores' customers as the presents piled up thanks to the generosity of the city's shoppers and the fraternity members' hard work.\nAcacia teams up with the Salvation Army every year, and this year, four local families-in-need will benefit from its charity. Fraternity members will gather the donated presents and pass out cookies and hot chocolate as the kids choose from the wide variety of gifts. The Salvation Army will give out the extra toys from its Bloomington location several days before Christmas.\nAcacia President Kyle Simcoe said he enjoys "Acacia Claus" because it provides an opportunity to give back to the community.\n"This is my favorite philanthropy because you can see the results. It is a great thing to watch the kids' faces as they look at the sea of toys in our formal room," Simcoe said. "We are letting the Bloomington community know we want to give back."\nThe fraternity members covered tabletops and filled shopping carts with presents outside the Kmart and Wal-Mart on Bloomington's west side and the Kmart on the east side of town. The fraternity is selling T-shirts commemorating the event for $10, and members are also collecting donations. They will use the money to buy more toys to donate to the Salvation Army.\nSophomore Michael Duncan and junior Dan Gensinger were put in charge of the Kmart on the eastside. Both gathered toys for nine hours Saturday and Sunday as fellow Acacia members joined them periodically to donate two hours of their time. All members will spend time collecting donations at one of the stores in the Bloomington area.\nDuncan said the Acacia motto is "human service," and that is what the fraternity hopes to provide. He said it is a very personal experience because he has been able to meet and listen to stories from members of the Bloomington community. \n"A man donated a truck to us because he said his family could never afford one," Duncan said. "Those are the things you really remember."\nDuncan and Gensinger looked at the piles of toys they had acquired and thought about which toys they would've chosen. \nWithout hesitation, Duncan said he would choose the Big Wheel tricycle because he had fond memories of his Power Wheels toy while he was growing up. Gensinger said he was torn between the Mr. Potato Head dolls and a monster truck.\nHe said watching the kids make the difficult decision about which gift to pick was his favorite part of "Acacia Claus." \n"That's when it comes together," Gensinger said, "and all the work becomes worthwhile"