Oceanside student spreads holiday cheer after tornadoes

Oceanside hockey team sends toys to Kentucky

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Oceansiders know what it’s like to suffer through a natural disaster during the holidays. In the wake of the devastating tornados that scarred parts of the Midwest and South on Dec. 10, one young Oceanside resident, Christian Hubert Jr., decided to help children who might be in the same position he was nine years ago when Hurricane Sandy hit Long Island.

Hubert, now 14, and his hockey teammates collected more than 100 toys last Friday, with 70 more coming from the Oceanside Knights of Columbus Monday morning. The students got up before school started both days to stand with signs in the high school’s driveway.

“Why I wanted to do this is back during Sandy, I was a little kid and lost all my toys,” Hubert said. “I really felt that I had a connection with the kids in Kentucky, and felt what they’re feeling right now, so I knew I had to do something to help them out.” The Huberts’ old home, by School No. 9 sustained significant damage, especially in the basement.

Civil Air Partrol Wing NY-288 announced a canned food drive at its weekly Monday meeting on Dec. 13, which inspired Hubert, a cadet master sergeant, to start formulating his own drive as well. From there, he went to his teammates on the Oceanside High School hockey team to spread the word about the drive during the school week. He also reached out to Principal Dr. Brendon Mitchell, who sent a letter to the student body Thursday evening.

With such a tight turnaround, Hubert said, he was blown away by the response from the community. The next morning saw between 100 and 120 toys dropped off between 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. at the looping driveway at the school’s entrance. Even more toys were dropped off at the Huberts’ home over the weekend. After another round of collections that saw 70 toys donated from the Knights of Columbus alone on Monday morning, Hubert brought the donated toys to his patrol meeting to be sent to Kentucky as soon as possible.

Christian Hubert Sr., 51, was an inspiration for his son’s military lifestyle, having served in the Army from 1989 to 2007. He now works in the Crime Scene Division of the Suffolk County Police Department. Hubert Jr. hopes to attend the Air Force Academy when he graduates from high school.

“It makes you very proud of him to see that’s he’s taking what he’s learning from both Civil Air Patrol and his hockey team and applying it to the community,” Hubert Sr. said.

Nearly a decade later, it is clear the suffering that Oceanside residents endured during Sandy has only made many more compassionate.