GTHS Girls Basketball Gives Back to the Community

The Grand Terrace High School Girls Basketball Program recently held a toy drive, the 2014 Toys For Tots Holiday Invitational. On Dec. 7, basketball teams from schools across the Inland Empire gathered at Grand Terrace High School to join in on basketball games and fundraising. Each team paid for their team's participation in the tournament through a donation to the fundraiser. The tournament ran all day, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to Varsity Girls Basketball Coach Johnny Vasquez, they were able to collect over one-hundred-and-fifty toys. On Monday, Dec. 15, players, their families, and the rest of the basketball program got together to wrap all the toys. Coach Vasquez and Assistant Coach Greg Grisham provided pizza and soda for the team as they wrapped the gifts. “Forty to fifty kids from the Colton and Grand Terrace area were there… it was a good turn out,” Coach Vasquez said. “The gifts have to be wrapped. It makes it an officially Christmas.” The range gifts are for children of all ages, from young children to the age of seventeen. To conclude the fundraiser, the basketball team and coaching staff held a Christmas party right at their home court, the Grand Terrace High School Gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 20. "There was Christmas music, cookies, treats and kids opening Christmas presents," Coach Vasquez said. "It was a great day." Kids from the Colton and Grand Terrace area were invited to open their Christmas gifts. Over 150 of the collected toys from the basketball tournament were put in the hands of community youth that might not have otherwise received gifts this Christmas. “It’s not just about the basketball games, it’s mainly about the kids and making sure they have a very merry Christmas,” Coach Vasquez said. Even the kids that couldn't make it due to transportation issues, still received a gift. Some of the gifts were delivered to their home just in time for Christmas.