When Vladimir Villapando heard about the devastating typhoon that struck southern Philippines in December, he knew he needed to do something.

"It hit close to home," said Villapando, who grew up in the Philippines before immigrating to the United States.

So he looked to his school, Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Newhall, where he serves as athletic director and spearheaded a donation drive.

And the private Catholic school stepped up: families gathered nearly 20 boxes of clothes, three boxes of shoes, two boxes of school supplies, three boxes of toiletries and toys and 14 cases of canned goods.

It's enough to fill at least 10 100-pound crates that will be shipped to Gawad Kalinga, a nonprofit organization based in the Philippines.

To date, the typhoon has killed more than 1,000 and displacing hundreds of thousands of villagers, according to media reports.

The school recently held a restaurant night at Fiesta Grill in Newhall with 15 percent of proceeds going to relief efforts.

The donations came mainly from the families of the 268 kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students at the Newhall school, which has a majority of Filipino students.

"I want to teach the kids how to be compassionate," Villapando said as families dropped off bags of clothes and canned foods Friday. "It's the right thing to do."

Principal Sharon Krahl said the school regularly hosts donation drives for international and Santa Clarita Valley causes. The goal is for the students to gain perspective and understand the responsibility they have as Christians to help others in need, she said.

"It really warms your hear to see they care about someone so far away," Krahl said.