The holiday season is always a time of giving and one South Bronx school was very much in the spirit on Tuesday morning, with Christmas less than a week away.
On Dec. 19, nonprofit organization New York Cares hosted its 35th annual coat drive and 34th annual gift distribution event at PS/MS 31 The William Lloyd Garrison School, located at 250 E. 156th St. in Melrose .The event supported and served students of families who live in School District 7, which included the neighborhoods of Melrose, Port Morris, Mott Haven, Highbridge, Longwood, Morrisania and Concourse Village.
The day of giving began with elementary school students, along with a classroom of kindergarten students, receiving special holiday gifts from Santa Claus, who showed up to take pictures with the children and hand out presents to each of them. Vince Guaraldi Trio’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” soundtrack was playing in the background as Santa presented the students with their gifts.
Many of the students’ gifts included board games and Beanie Babies, among other fun items.
Following the gift distribution, middle school students picked out and tried on winter coats in front of mirrors to determine what jackets best fit them.
For this year’s coat drive, volunteers donated 300 warm winter coats, while 300 pre-requested gifts were distributed to students in need during the gift distribution event.
“For me, the best part of this entire experience is knowing that we are providing each student here with gifts, coats, along with a positive message,” said New York Cares executive director Sapreet Saluja. “That positive message is that each of these students matter and that it’s important to be giving — even a little bit can go a long way.”
Saluja said that the event will hopefully relieve the burden of parents, particularly during the holiday season when a family’s shopping expenses might be higher than average.
“Parents have enough to worry about on a regular basis, with rent, cell phone bills, children’s education, traveling and other expenses,” Saluja said. “Hopefully this will make things a little easier on them, as well.”
PS/MS 31 Principal Elisha Boyd said that just seeing the reactions on the students’ faces when they received their special gift or coat felt like a gift in itself.
“An event like this is just one way of helping students who are not as fortunate and showing them that they are all important to us,” Boyd told the Bronx Times. “Just knowing that we are giving back to them is a great benefit to everybody involved in the coat drive and gift distribution.”
The New York Cares Coat Drive has collected more than two and a half million winter coats for men, women and children throughout the city since it was started in 1989, while the organization’s Winter Wishes program has granted hundreds of thousands of gifts to youth in NYC for more than 30 years.
According to Saluja, volunteers from New York Cares categorize all donated jackets by size before they are distributed back into the community. Gently used, freshly laundered coats can be donated at hundreds of public collection sites, including FDNY Battalions in each of the five boroughs.
Founded in 1987, New York Cares is a nonprofit organization that runs programs throughout the five boroughs year round, addressing issues including hunger, homelessness and educational inequality, along with supporting environmental causes. New York Cares volunteers serve in schools, soup kitchens, senior centers, public parks, libraries and other non-profit organizations.
According to New York Cares, 20,000 New Yorkers filled more than 67,000 volunteer positions last year.
Reach Steven Goodstein at sgoodstein@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260–8326. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
