Anthony’s Flower Farm continues major toy giveaway for Christmas

Anthony’s Flower Farm continues major toy giveaway for Christmas

It’s no secret that a Throggs Neck florist is all about giving, rather than receiving, during this holiday season.

The owners of Anthony’s Flower Farm at 3240 E. Tremont Avenue, along with other community activists, continued to make toy donations throughout the borough to young children in the Bronx who are terminally ill or physically or mentally impaired.

After successfully donating over 100 toys to the Montefiore Children’s Hospital, florist owners Bobby Jaen and Joe Imperia visited the Jacobi Children’s Hospital, P.S. 176 at 850 Baychester Avenue, VISIONS, and TOTS between Monday, December 12 and Friday, December 16 to donate hundreds of more toys.

The visit to TOTS capped the florist’s successful toy drive that began before Thanksgiving. Jaen said the goal of the drive, which collected over 1,000 toys, was to make sure that all children in the Bronx had something to smile about this Christmas season.

“Everybody who took part in this collection had the same intentions and we were all able to make this drive more successful than we ever expected,” Jaen said. “Over 1,000 toys were brought in to our shop and we made sure that every single one of them was given to a kid who deserves it this Christmas. The smiles on their faces mean more to us than anything else.”

Councilman Jimmy Vacca joined Jaen, Imperia, and others who contributed in putting the toy drive together to distribute the toys to the children at TOTS. Over 30 children who are enrolled in the daily programs were given a special present and sang popular Christmas tunes while playing with their new toys.

Nikki DiNapoli, executive director of TOTS, was touched by the florist’s generosity and all of those who contributed to the drive. She said it’s always a great feeling to learn what members of the community are able to do to raise the Christmas spirit.

“Anthony’s Flower Farm proved that there are great people out there who want to make a big impact in a child’s life, especially during the holidays,” DiNapoli said. “For this group of people to come together and collect all these toys sends a special message to the Bronx and a lot of kids have something to be happy about this Christmas.”

Jaen acknowledged that because there is still time before Christmas, the florist will continue to accept donations and that he and the other volunteers will make sure that the toys are properly dispersed to kids throughout the borough.

Anthony’s Flower Farm would like to acknowledge, for their outstanding contributions to the toy drive, Alexia Acevedo, Rebecca and Christina from Mommy’s Mingle, Lilianna Pekic of the Throggs Neck Merchants Association, Bronx Chamber of Commerce president Lenny Caro, Bill Long of Bronx Toys, Pastosa Ravioli, Crosstown Diner, Fusion Fitness, Schuyler Hill Funeral Home, and all other local merchants who helped make the drive successful.

Reach Vito Signorile via e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (718) 742-3383.