Chaminade Students Hold Annual Toy Drive for Kids

While some children awaken to a plethora of wrapped boxes and presents under a towering tree Christmas morning, there are many – even on Long Island – who wake up each Dec. 25 with next to nothing under the tree save the bare necessities: some food on the table and perhaps a much needed article of clothing to help them through the winter months.

For at least the past two decades students at have been holing an annual toy drive for those less fortunate children, donating action figures, dolls, playsets and games so these kids can enjoy Christmas that much more.

Teacher Casey Giordano shakes his head when asked how many years the toy drive has officially been held, recalling it was at least since he was a student in the school's halls. "So far, comparable," he said Tuesday afternoon when questioned as to how many items students had donated to the drive this year as opposed to previous years, estimating they collected at least "a dozen trash bags full of toys."

The school used to partner with the United States Marine Corps.' Toys for Tots program, but recently began shifting more of its donations towards the Dryden Elementary School in Westbury, a kindergarten through second grade school. "We knew that they could use it," Giordano said.

Run by the General Student Organization (GSO), about five or six Chaminade students will drive over to Westbury after classes end to bring the approximately 600 children a toy for the holiday. The toy drive officially ends Thursday.

"They have kids that in kindergarten, imagine a kindergarten kid understands in kindergarten that he's not going to get a Christmas present because his parents who need to put food on the table are getting him a jacket," Giordano said of the students at Dryden. "That's tough. The kids are over the moon when they see all the toys that the kids are getting and the faculty and the staff there are so unbelievably thankful and it's just a nice thing to be able to do."

In his fourth year overseeing the toy drive, Giordano explained that Chaminade "had split (donations) amongst a couple organizations." Some of the toys would go to the Marines, some were set aside for Dryden and some toys were donated to other organizations.

"We sort of do it independently (for) who asks and who needs it in the last few years," Giordano said. "In the past years, if there was a needy family someplace, we'd set some aside for them, or if there was somebody that needed a bag of toys for something."