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Mostly Cloudy Toys for Tots starts annual drive for holidays
The Long Island United States Marines Toys for Tots Program kicked off its annual toy drive for children in need this holiday season at the Coral House on Oct. 20.
This will be the 32nd toy drive for Toys for Tots, the largest holiday gift program for children in the nation.
Marines, elected officials, drive organizers, community members and over 100 children from Barack Obama Elementary School, in Hempstead, gathered to kick off the drive with a lunch, speeches, a performance by the American Bombshells — a Rockville Centre-based nonprofit singing group — and a surprise appearance by Santa Claus.
John Sardine, of Queens, a Marine gunnery sergeant and the Long Island Toys for Tots’ drive coordinator, said that this would be the sixth year in a row that he would help the organization gather and distribute toys for the organization.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” said Sardine, who was joined at the kickoff by eight of his fellow Marines. “It gives us a sense of responsibility and accomplishment. We wear the uniform to serve our country, but it’s an even better feeling when we’re able to serve our community.”
The effort begins this month, Sardine said, with Marines and volunteers attending events and distributing boxes to local organizations to collect toys. When the boxes are filled, he said, he and his fellow Marines will pick up, count, and organize toys in a warehouse in preparation for their distribution, which begins in December.
Sean Acosta, co-chair of Long Island Toys for Tots, said there are many children, especially this year, amid rising inflation, whose parents will not be able to afford toys for them this holiday season. “On Christmas Day, children want to have a toy underneath their tree,” Acosta said, “and this is our way of giving back.”
In front of the lecterns where elected officials and members of the organization gave speeches and accepted awards for their fundraising efforts, four large boxes overflowed with toys like soccer balls and play sets, and Acosta described them as just the start.
“Oh, that’s nothing,” he said of the collection on display. “I mean, we’ll collect, you know, hundreds of thousands of toys. There are so many kids in need, that need toys. We want them to be happy, and we don’t want to disappoint them.”
Sitting among dozens of joyful children, Jada Gillenwater, a teaching assistant at Barack Obama Elementary, said it was such a positive thing to see children in a place where they are welcomed and can receive gifts. They were particularly happy, she said, to meet Santa Claus, and have a chance to experience community and holiday spirit.
“There are many families who, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and inflation, really can’t afford to give their children everything they would like for them to have,” Gillenwater said. “Toys for Tots makes sure that all children, regardless of any financial backgrounds, get a gift for the holidays.”
She added that she believed Toys for Tots has a tremendous impact on many Nassau County communities, and that she was in awe of the organization’s effort.
The toy drive will continue through December. To find out how to donate, go to garden-city-ny.toysfortots.org.
