Malverne students donate to senator's toy drive

Student council members at Maurice W. Downing Primary School are spreading holiday cheer this season by donating to a toy drive hosted by Sen. Dean Skelos. The drive is to benefit residents of flood-impacted areas, such as Long Beach, Island Park, Inwood, East Rockaway, Oceanside and Baldwin, who lost everything in the hurricane and are not financially able to provide a traditional holiday for their families this year. During the toy drive, which ran for several weeks at the school, students collected four large boxes of toys to donate for the cause.

Sen. Skelos visited the students on Dec. 20 to pick up the donations and speak on the importance of their generous acts. “You’ve all done something very special to help people who are less fortunate than you,” he said to the enthusiastic group. “It’s always important to give back.” During his stay, the senator answered questions from the children and gave citations to each of them for their kindness.