Dream Center NYC held its fourth annual Christmas shopping event, “His Toy Store,” for low-income families at the Manhattan Community Center on Dec. 7.
Dream Center, a nonprofit that supports underserved New Yorkers with weekly mobile food pantries throughout Manhattan and Long Island City, partnered with Hope For New York and Grace Place NYC Church to brighten the holiday season for Hamilton Heights families and their kids in financial need.
Unlike other toy drive events, parents get to pick out their child’s presents from hundreds of toys ranging from Lego sets, toy cars, dolls, and educational toys to stuffed animals, which are then lovingly wrapped by one of Santa’s helpers.
Priscilla Perumalla, executive director of the Dream Center NYC, told amNewYork Metro the goal was to uplift the parents and not make them feel embarrassed because they can’t afford Christmas presents for their kids.
“What we want to do is uplift the parent [and] make them the hero,” Perumalla explained. “We allow them to shop for the toys for free. They get to pick out the gift that best suits their child. It’s really important to us to make sure that all around, this is a dignifying, uplifting family gathering type of event.”
A score of volunteers helped with the event, unloading the truck filled to the brim with toys and turning two community rooms into toy stores where parents -and some kids- browsed for presents with the help of Santa’s Elves.
Volunteers Shane Spring and Kelli Lawson, members of the Grace Place Church, shared it was gratifying to serve their community, especially during the holiday season.
“We always talk about loving our community. So to do that tangibly and actually be a part of that is really gratifying,” Spring told amNewYork Metro. Lawson added, “Jesus tells us to give with a cheerful heart, and so we’re happy to do that this season.”
Elves Roxanna, Yamilette, and Rachely are seniors at New Heights Academy Charter School. They heard about the volunteer opportunity through their school counselor. The trio “loved” to volunteer because they were helping their neighborhood.
“I love giving back to our community,” Rachely shared. “I love seeing the little kids smile because I had that when I was a kid, so I love to give back and see that on their faces as well.”
Christa Chi, vice president of Volunteer Mobilization and Generosity at Hope for New York, explained that “His Toy Store” has been an annual holiday outreach event for about 25 years. Hope for New York organizes about 40 ‘toy stores’ throughout the holiday season, and the charitable events are financed through donations from the Toy Foundation.
“We get about $300,000 worth of toy donations from [the Toy Foundation], and then we raise about $200,000 for toys from our generous donor community here in the city,” Chi explained.
The joyful event also included photos with Santa, Christmas shows for the kids, and a raffle where families could win big-ticket items like large LEGO sets, a Nintendo Switch, scooters, or bikes. Rethink Food and Migrant Kitchen handed out hot chocolate, popcorn, and 450 warm meals.
Crystal Kelly, a single mom of a three-year-old daughter, attended the event for the first time. She picked a box of Squishmallows for her daughter to unwrap on Christmas Day. Kelly told amNewYork Metro that the event meant a lot, especially at a time when many New Yorkers have difficulty paying bills due to increased living expenses.
“Some people might be like, ‘Oh, it’s just one gift,’ but that one gift goes a long way, especially for a little kid,” Cao Kelly told amNewYork Metro.
