Holy Cross High toy drive

The Holy Cross Concert Band, under the direction of Andrea Thomson, held a free Christmas Concert on December 16 and requested attendees bring a new toy as a donation for the Holy Cross High School Toy Drive. Toys were donated to the Family Readiness Program at Fort Totten which serves the 77th Regional Readiness Command. The Readiness Program supports the soldiers who are enlisted as reserves and their families and these toys specifically help the children who have lost their mom or dad or whose mom or dad have been deployed to Iraq. Toys were also donated for children affiliated with the St. John's Bread & Life Program in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The program serves a needy cross-section of people as well as the hungry and homeless of the city. It is the second largest soup kitchen in the city, serving 1,000 persons a day. The toys were for the children of homeless and hungry parents.