Angel watches over toys

When the Costa Mesa High School cheer squad decided to run a toy drive for the first time this year, its members didn’t realize they would get help from an Angel.

The guiding spirit in this case would be the Costa Mesa-based Angels Charity, whose founder, Doug Hansen, started it to aid children with special needs, like his 6-year-old daughter. The charity’s most visible accomplishment, Angels Playground, offers disabled kids the most accessibility of any playground in the area.

The toy drive was a unique effort by the girls on the squad, Cheer Coach Kori Johnson said. Unlike many of the charitable works done in the community, they came up with it all on their own, she said.

“Usually, the girls do a ‘Secret Santa’ for each other around this time of year,” Johnson said. “But this year, they decided that, with the economy in the state it is, they should turn it into a toy drive instead. I’m so proud of them. With all the things we do in the community, it feels like, ‘So you guys have been listening when I talk about this stuff!’”

Hansen, a Costa Mesa alumnus, and his daughter, Angel, showed up Monday to meet the squad, after the charity donated more than 50 toys. The girls were touched by Angel’s laughing and friendly manner, especially when she called squad Capt. Brianna Endo her “best friend,” Johnson said.

“That meant everything,” Johnson said. “The look on her face was precious.”

The toys go to Children’s Hospital of Orange County and the local Boys & Girls Club.

That’s not the only moment of prominence the squad has had lately; on Friday, the team got the nod as fifth runner-up in the American School Spirit Awards, which honor squads across the nation in matters of academics, community and school spirit as well as energy on the field.

MICHAEL ALEXANDER may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or at michael.alexander@latimes.com.