DOWNEY -- Several students donated toys and other essential items for a good cause at Unsworth Elementary last week.

The event benefited Angels Step in Emergency Domestic Violence Shelter, which is a 30 to 45-day emergency shelter for people fleeing domestic violence relationships.

“It was really nice to see so many girls getting donations for our families at shelter,” said Nancy Salazar, Program Manager of Angels Step In. “It looks like they enjoyed getting the donations as well as wrapping them. It’s going to be a nice surprise for our clients.”

Items donated included toiletries and toys.

The event was hosted by Girl Power, a club at the elementary school that is centered around the empowerment of fourth and fifth-grade level girls.

“We meet weekly to discuss issues and talk about things and conflict resolution,” said Kelley Rush-Becker, Principal and club coordinator. “Part of the reason I also started it is because I want us to think outside of ourselves. We are a Character Counts school and a Character Counts district, and I believe it's more about our actions, not just words.”

Girl Power has an average of 40 to 50 participants weekly. This is the second year the club has held a drive to benefit Angels Step in.

“Because we are a girl group, I kind of thought about what groups could we donate to,” said Rush-Becker. “Thinking about women who might have self-esteem issues or have some issues in their own lives, we thought it would be important for us to reach out to them.”

Rush-Becker said that she felt the event went “amazing” this year.

“We sent out letters to our parents in Girl Power several weeks ago, and the presents started coming in the very next day. And they kept coming,” said Rush-Becker. “We don’t have an affluent neighborhood; our area, we have a lot of families that struggle. But they still managed to find time and the money make this something of importance to them as well.”