Community Corner
Christmas Comes Early for 40 Needy RVC Kids
Hempstead Middle School hosts toy drive for local families in need.
Local volunteers helped spread holiday cheer to more than 600 children from needy Nassau County families — including 40 kids from RVC — during an annual toy drive at Hempstead Middle School on Saturday. Organized by Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey, assistant to the commissioner Angel Rios, and the Latin/African American Chaplains Association (L.A.C.A.), the event drew families from the Rockville Centre, Hempstead, Freeport and Uniondale communities.
"It's been a difficult year financially for many families, so if we can find one kid a toy that will make him or her happy then that's a good thing," said Bishop Fernando Rodriguez of L.A.C.A., which has over 200 chapters in Nassau County. "[L.A.C.A.] gives spiritual care, but also provides other resources that the community needs."
Volunteers set up a toy display in the Hempstead Middle School auditorium, and each child was allowed to choose their favorite one and meet Santa Claus. According to Rodriguez, the toys were donated by various community organizations, including the Nassau County Police Department, the county executive's office, Little Debbie's and more than 200 local chapters of L.A.C.A.
Find out what's happening in Rockville Centrewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Organizers of the toy drive asked that toy recipients, including their families, remained anonymous.
The event also featured food vendors who served hot dogs and cotton candy to the recipients, as well as musical entertainment for the children and their families. "We hope it puts a smile on the little kids' faces," Rodriguez said.
Find out what's happening in Rockville Centrewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The toy drive came together after three months of planning, and the help from community volunteers who worked until nearly 2 a.m. on Saturday morning setting up the toy display and decorating the school.
"I've been doing this event for nine years and I try to get the community to work together," explained Rios, who oversaw the planning. "The toy drive gets bigger and bigger every year," added volunteer Ricardo Mercado of Freeport.
By next year, organizers hope to further expand the toy drive to include multiple locations for gift distribution."Hopefully next year we'll do both Hempstead and Freeport and eventually other villages too," Rodriguez said.
