Chai Lifeline donates tens of thousands of toys to kids battling illnesses
NEW YORK -- In a warehouse in Borough Park, Brooklyn, dedicated Chai Lifeline volunteers rummage through mountains of toys to find the right ones to send to children battling life-threatening or lifelong illnesses.
"Hanukkah is a time where we celebrate the ability of how a little light can really illuminate a lot of darkness. Illness is darkness. Death is darkness. And when you bring a sparkle of light ... it creates such a warmth and such an illumination that it's really life-changing for a child," says Rabbi Simcha Scholar, CEO of Chai Lifeline, which works nationwide to provide support and care to those who can use a dose of holiday cheer.
The gifts go to children who have an illness and all of their siblings, as well as households where a parent is ill. Chai Lifeline also supports siblings of children who have died due to their illness.
Annual Hanukkah toy drive held for over 30 years
For more than 30 years, Chai Lifeline's annual Toy Drive has worked to bring some Hanukkah hope to families like the Binets. Two of their sons were diagnosed with Glycogen Storage Disease, which requires special feeding every three hours to keep their blood sugar up.
"They probably knew what it meant to be brave before they knew what it meant to be happy because they always said, 'Chai Lifeline is proud of us, that we're brave,'" says Perry Binet, a mother of three from Staten Island.
Chai Lifeline estimates that more than 50,000 presents will be going to families around the country this year. The organization operates off wish lists submitted by the kids, trying its hardest to purchase the presents requested by the families.
"When you feel so loved, it's a little hard to, you know, be in a bad mood," says Binet.
"We have volunteers, hundreds of high school students that come here every single night after school till about 1:00 in the morning, packing the boxes," says Bracha Mandel, Program Director.
Those volunteers include Chani Traub who, along with her kids, has been donating countless hours to the organization for years.
"It takes us about six, seven weeks, but we have girls coming round the clock now in the evenings, we work evenings, they're here all the time. They're amazing," Traub says.
Hanukkah begins Dec. 25 at sundown.
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