Birch Lane Toy Drive Donates Over 300 Toys

MASSAPEQUA, NY. — Birch Lane Elementary School concluded its two-week toy drive Tuesday after collecting more than 300 toys for the John Theissen Children’s Foundation.

The drive was hosted by the Birch Lane student council, under the guidance of faculty advisors Meghan Reedy and Allison Rifkin. The student council served as “elves” during the two-week toy drive, picking up donated toys from classrooms every morning. To aid in those efforts, teachers left bags outside their classrooms with any new, unwrapped toys children had brought in to donate.

Based in Wantagh, district officials said the John Theissen Children’s Foundation “gives toys to sick and underprivileged children across Long Island.”

“The school did really well,” fifth grader Lochlan Farley said. “More people will now
have the joy of getting toys.”

For fifth-grader Kailynn Pogan, the toy drive was an opportunity to reflect on Christmas mornings of the past, spent unwrapping presents. That experience, district officials said, was the same experience Pogan wanted to give other kids this holiday season.

“It feels good because we’re helping people who are in need,” Pogan said.