By Dessalines Ferdinand
LIBERTY CITY – Angels for Humanity, a Miami-based non-profit organization, with the support of several local enterprises, hosted its traditional annual Toy Distribution on Saturday, December 19, just ahead of the Christmas holiday.
The 15th annual event took place – from noon to 2pm – at Charles Hadley Park in Liberty City, home to one of the largest concentrations of African Americans in South Florida.
Due to Covid-19 safety guidelines, all participants of this drive-thru event were asked to pre-register with one of three community organizations, Liberty City Optimist, Overtown Optimist and Family Action Network Movement (FANM). For the safety of everyone, volunteers and participants were also required to wear masks.
Liberty City is considered one of the poorest neighborhoods throughout the Miami region. Bringing toys in to give out to children throughout the area brings warmth, joy, and closeness to not only the families of these children in need, but also to the entire community.
More than 60 volunteers helped out at this year’s event. More than one hundred cars with children 12 and under in passenger seats, drove by over three hours to meet Santa, and receive gifts that would bring them great joy. Several well-known Miami personalities, including WPLG channel 10 anchor Calvin Hughes were present to lend their support to this charitable cause.
According to the organizers, there were more than 1,000 gifts given away, so there was no shortage of excitement for the kids.
Bikes, remote control cars and helicopters, and much more were handed out to children in need. These donations came from hundreds of citizens and business owners throughout the community and it highlighted how well people come together during a time of need, especially at the end of the year holidays.
It’s a holiday collective effort by the Angels for Humanity’s Toys for Joy program. City of Miami officials and the Miami Police Department also contributed to this 15th annual edition.
“We are just doing a little bit of our part, to make sure that they understand that we care about them, we love them, they are who we serve, and we trying to do our best to make them happy even in bad times,” said City of Miami Commissioner, Jeffrey Watson (District 5).
“Yes, it is giving toys, but as long as we can put a smile on a kid’s face, it is very gratifying in these difficult times,” explained Farid Moussallem, a member of the organization board.
A Miami resident who drove by with four happy kids in his car showed gratitude to the non-profit organization, saying, “Merry Christmas to everybody! I thank everybody that’s involved in this. It’s well deserved! The kids are number one!”
“A lot of families have lost their jobs so, just being able to give them a little joy during this holiday season, is bringing us even more joy,” said Julio Hernandez, Chairman of the organization, which is dedicated to inspire, empower, and support impoverished children in Haiti and around the world by providing them access to quality education and healthcare.
Bringing toys in to give out to children throughout South Florida’s region also brings warmth, joy, and closeness to not only the families of these children in need, but also to the entire community.
Gena, an 8-year-old participant riding in her grandma’s car, was thrilled when she saw Santa and took a picture with him. The happy girl went home with an amazing gift.
This year’s edition’s contributors included Luxuring Living, Gousse Urology, Babor and Sectus. Family and friends of the board members of this organization also donated funds needed to pay for many of the gifts.
Despite COVID-19’s looming storm clouds, the 2020’s Angel for Humanity Toy Distribution event was a success and next year’s looks to be even better.