Local LGBT Community Builds Mountain Of Holiday Spirit For Needy Families
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - That thumping beat you may have heard in Old City Saturday night was not the clumping of reindeer hooves on the roof, but the sound of Philadelphia's LGBT community coming together to bring Christmas to kids whose lives are touched by HIV.
It was the 9th annual toy event hosted by the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund.
It didn't sound like a typical Christmas party. No carols were playing at the Fire & Ice lounge on Market Street. But a mound of toys ranging from Battleship to Barbie tumbled out from beneath a glistening Christmas tree.
More than 300 guests bought tickets and brought toys to the event, one of the group's biggest fundraisers of the year.
"The toys collected to go support kids at the special immunology service at CHOP as well as children of clients served by ActionAIDS," explains executive director Samantha Guisti.
Which, she says, sets up a type of store where ActionAIDS families can shop for their kids:
"The parents are gonna pick the toys that they know their kids are gonna love, and they'll be under the tree on Christmas."
The group's biggest fundraiser of the year also featured a silent auction and lots of dancing.