Editor’s note: Every year, the Morristown nonprofit Our Youth Their Future throws a Christmas party, with treats and toys for disadvantaged kids. The pandemic nixed that. But toys were distributed to more than 100 families this week via a contact-free drive up system, said OYTF co-founder and town council Vice President Toshiba Foster.
By Toshiba Foster
This year was different from last year because we were not able to share fellowship with the families that normally attend our annual event.
Kids were not able to decorate gingerbread houses, there was no magic show, nor did they get to see and receive their gift from Santa. There were no festive sounds of Christmas carols being played, and families did not get to enjoy lunch as they have in prior years.
Instead, we had to come up with a way to still spread some holiday cheer, so it was a “contactless” drive-up and drive-out event. Nonetheless, we are thankful and blessed to have been able to do something to help support families during this pandemic
The event would not have been a success without the support of town Administrator Jillian Barrick and her staff; Wayne Cresta of the town Seniors Division; Public Safety director Michael Corcoran Jr.; the Morristown police, including Acting Police Chief Darnell Richardson, Sgt. Beverly Downey and Officer Carmen Starnes; and Fire Chief Robert Flanagan.
We are especially thankful to Joseph Thorpe of the Marine Corps Toys for Tots for taking time out pick up the toy donations; Fire Capt. Nick Prizzi and Firefighter Sean Gaffney; and Aaron Oliver, chairman of the Morristown Democratic Committee; as well as to Bethsaida Chapter #7 for its toy/coat donations, which helped bring bright smiles to children and families during a time of need. We’d also like to thank Councilwoman Sandi Mayer for her participation.
Of course we can’t forget all of Santa’s elves (Donna Howard, Tina Lindsey, Linda Lansing, Barbara Lansing, Krystal, Tia, Trisch Schwab, and Councilwoman Mayer) who helped wrap the gifts!
Stacey and Jemar Rudolph helped with the toy distribution, and Derrick Harris-McCoy, Jesse X White and George Wilkerson directed traffic, ensuring we were not overwhelmed with too many cars at one time and were able to maintain social distance as the toys were distributed!
I would be remiss if I did not thank OYTF members for their outstanding efforts, as we had to creatively come up with a way to spread holiday cheer despite the pandemic and cold temperatures! Thank you for all you do!
I know the kids look forward to this so it’s sad that they’ll miss it but why not try actually raising funds to help with year round education help. Im sure that would be impactful.