Joint International/Local Toy Drive Brings Holiday Cheer to Kids in the Bronx and Brooklyn

DECEMBER 13 -- For the first time, the TWU International Women's Committee joined forces with the TWU Local 100 Women's Committee in a holiday toy drive that collected a thousand toys for area kids.

TWU International Women's Committee Chair LaTonya Crisp, who is also Local 100's Recording Secretary, put out the call to TWU locals across America, and they responded by shipping toys to Local 100 in New York. And here, Local 100 Women's Committee Coordinator Giselle Martinez organized toy donations from dozens of transit locations on both bus and subway properties, including Westchester County.

On December 1, Day Two of the International Women's Conference, Crisp congratulated all of the many TWU Locals across America that shipped toys to the Local 100 Union Hall on behalf of the charity drive. "Everyone in this room should be standing up because your local presidents shipped toys here," she said. "This is the work that all of us did."

Hundreds of toys were picked up at the Union Hall by Sean Moriarty, Director of Special Gifts at Montefiore Hospital. Two van loads went to children in the cancer ward.

“We often think about the moment that a kid gets a toy, and how excited that kid is, particularly at that point, because they are going through a crisis,” Moriarty said. “Play for a kid, is super important. It is how we become who we are… giving children the opportunity to play while they’re ill is an incredible gift.”

On December 13th, Martinez delivered hundreds of toys to the Cypress Hills Child Care Corporation along with MABSTOA officers Monique Rondon and Harriette Goodridge-Seymour, and Nicolette Brown from Stations.

Martinez thanked all who donated, but gave a 'special shout-out' to Pete Rosconi and his team for being the first to step up.