Queens Councilmember and newly-elected City Comptroller John Liu is urging New Yorkers to remember the local children of deployed Army personnel this holiday season by donating new toys during a New York Hospital Queens annual holiday toy drive.
“This toy drive is for the kids whose parents are stationed abroad in service of our country,” said Liu during a press conference on Friday, October 30 to announce the drive. “These children are well-loved, and that’s why I urge the community to donate toys to help make these kids feel important and loved as they really are.”
In September 2008, local reserve units including the 340th Military Police Company were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Deployments continued this year, from the Ernie Pyle Reserve Center at Fort Totten in Bayside.
We have units constantly in deployment,” said Bill Roberts, Public Affairs Officer for the 99th Regional Readiness Command, the headquarters at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in charge of Army Reserve units in 13 eastern states, including New York.
For this reason, many children will not see their parents during the upcoming holiday.
“It means a lot to the kids,” Liu added.
For the past six years, Freedom Medical Aid Team (FreeMAT), a voluntary organization of employees from New York Hospital Queens, has been collecting toys and items from local residents for the U.S. military. Children of military families from Fort Totten and other local reserve bases will benefit from the toy drive.
“I want to thank everyone for their efforts, since it’s a big thing for the soldiers who are deployed and can’t make it back home this holiday season,” said Colonel Peter Sammarco. “I want to thank you on behalf of what is being done to remember military families.”
Sammarco also added that the community’s generosity helps the deployed military men and women “know someone is looking out for their family during the holidays” and that it “eases the burden of separation.”
Captain Jeniffer Vale feels that the toy drive is a great effort to make the holidays a special time for the children.
“It’s the best gift that someone can give something so the kids can feel happy,” Vale said. “Supporting the little ones is so important, since they’re the future.”
The holiday toy drive is taking place until December 4. Toys that are new and still in their original wrapping are welcomed to be dropped off at the following locations:
New York Hospital Queens, Main Entrance Security Desk
56-45 Main Street, Flushing, NY
718-670-2091
New York Hospital Queens, Public Affairs Department
41-61 Kissena Boulevard, Suite B, 1st Floor, Flushing, NY
718-670-1065
New York Hospital Queens, EMS Department
163-15 46 Avenue, Flushing, NY
718-670-1010
Office of Council Member John Liu
135-27 38th Avenue, Suite 388, Flushing, NY
212-788-7022
For more information, contact Peter Kwiath, FreeMAT co-founder, at 718-670-2091.
