By Nicole Falco
"I already said I was going to keep selling until the first snowfall," Troy said after being surrounded by his fellow Howell Road School students eager to make a purchase.
Troy's mom, Mary, has turned her minivan into a traveling candy store. Each day, Mary arrives just before 3:00 p.m. to set up Troy's "store." Mary sets up a cooler, drapes an American Flag beach towel over it and tops it with boxes of candy. "Skittles," "Mentos," "Twizzlers," "M&Ms," gum, lollipops and more are sold from 3 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.
"We thought we were just going to do it until we got to $100, but now we are at almost $1,000," Troy said.
Troy's efforts began shortly after tragedy struck. "He saw me crying and said, 'What can we do to help?'" Mary said.
The Rosenbaums of Valley Stream threw a few ideas back and forth including selling bookmarks until Troy's 16-year-old sister, Toni, suggested selling lollipops. Troy quickly went under his bed to gather the money he had been saving from his $10 a week allowance. Troy's parents took him to Costco where he bought three boxes of lollipops. Troy's allowance, together with donations from mom, dad and a few neighbors, have helped Troy sell more than just lollipops. In fact, over the past few months Troy has actually taken candy orders.
Troy usually sells between $8 and $23 a day selling candy for a nickel, a dime or a quarter. On one particular Thursday, Dec. 6, his birthday, Troy sold over $14 worth of candy. Recently, Troy had an even better day. He was given a $300 donation to put towards his goal.
Marie Claussell passes Troy every afternoon on the way to pick up her son from school. Claussell had wanted to make a donation to the American Red Cross, but then, "I saw Troy out here and thought, what a good thing for him to do. He's out here every single day and he's doing a great job," Claussell said.
Marie said, "I'm going to give you two-fifty," and Troy said, "You're going to give me $2.50?" Marie said, "No, $250," and Troy's face dropped. Then she gave him $300, Mary recalled.
Troy has about $900 so far. Sister Margie of the Holy Name of Mary Parish Outreach program is helping him hook up with the Valley Stream family that would benefit the most from his efforts. While the name of the family will probably remain anonymous, Troy does know the money will go to the wife of a New York City firefighter who suddenly found herself moving into a new house without her husband's support.
The only thing that has dampened Troy's efforts happened on that particular Thursday, Dec. 6, his birthday. Mary
had been out shopping in her minivan with the candy, cooler, towel and a jar filled with $35 in change and small bills that Troy uses to make change for his customers. As Mary was "setting up shop," she noticed the jar was empty and her cell phone was missing. Someone had broken into her car. Mary wondered how she would tell Troy the bad news, but when he finally heard, his spirit did not seem broken.
"I'm proud, very proud of him...he just wants to help," Mary said.
