Students learn the joy of giving back

May 3 was a day that would change a little boy’s life forever.
That little boy, Sonny Roberto, has a birth defect called Prader-Willi Syndrome which is a life-threatening condition in which children have no control over their appetite and can literally eat themselves to death.
Along with this syndrome come other medical conditions such as asthma, GERD, sleep apnea, gastroparesis, and seizures, just to name a few. Roberto has been hospitalized numerous times, has had 12 surgeries and has had pneumonia 15 times.
Never would he have thought that so many other children cared about him.
They cared because they got to know him through their teachers at P.S. 54 in Richmond Hill.
It was explained to the students that he was a special little boy who was unfortunately quite ill. They wanted to do all they could to make him feel better, so they organized a fund-raiser and sold ices and baked goods.
They raised over $500 and by doing so, were able to buy him some toys to put in his new play room, which was a wish for him granted by the Make a Wish Foundation.