Christmas Wishes Granted for Sunset Park
On December 22, 23, and 24 Children of the City had a Holiday distribution event where over 300 gifts, as well as boxes of food, were distributed to our program participants. Our staff and volunteers were meticulous to ensure safety, social distancing, and cleaning during our distribution. We set up shifts for families to come and pick up items, checked temperatures, required the proper PPE to enter the building etc. It was during these pickups that we are reminded of what the Holidays truly are about. A father told us while picking up toys for his kids how much his son was going to love the gift. The boy has cancer and the family has been struggling and the food box would help them feel a little more relaxed that week. Another parent told us about how difficult things have been. Her daughters are immunocompromised and giving them gifts we provided made her very excited.
Children of the City’s Toy Drive was a presence on Amazon, You Give Goods, Social Media and our website and through the support of various donors and sponsors we were able to acquire enough gifts to meet all of those wishes. We also teamed up with local businesses such as Briana’s Hair Salon and New York Security Solutions. Thankfully we were also able to secure food box donations through Cru and Comunidad Cristiana. During the toy pick-ups, our staff and volunteers reported an enormous need for food and we were glad to be able to alleviate some of that need, even if only for a bit.
Sunset Park has been hit hard with the COVID 19 pandemic. With so many out of work and not knowing what to do, they know they can turn to Children of the City for help. COC has been a trusted support in this community for several decades. This year we had double the requests for not only Christmas gifts but also essential items such as food, cleaning supplies, and diapers. We are looking for new partnerships for food distribution and will be accepting donations into the New Year as we are expecting the need for food to extend far into 2021.
We want to thank all who donated and volunteered for this event and wish you all a Safe, Happy and Healthy New Year.
On December 22, 23 and 24 Children of the City had a Holiday distribution event where over 300 gifts, as well as boxes of food, were distributed to our program participants. Our staff and volunteers were meticulous to ensure safety, social distancing and cleaning during our distribution.