J A N U A R Y 7
L E H A V R E
N E W S
Toys for Tots 2020
Le Havre Does It Again!
BY JUDY DENSKY,
LE HAVRE BOARD MEMBER
On Saturday, December 12, Le
Havre hosted our annual Toys for Tots
fundraising event. Because of the current
Le Havre Website Address and Email Addresses
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pandemic, the event was a little
different this year (including, sadly,
no Santa). More important, we held
2 sessions to avoid crowding, one at
12:00-1:30 and another at 2:00-3:30.
There was lots of hand sanitizer on
hand and only families were allowed
to sit together to keep everyone safe.
I attended the 2:00-3:30 session and
when I arrived, 5 tables were filled with
kids and their parents having a special
Toys for Tots lunch from our cafe. The 2
handsome blue uniformed Marines were
also eating lunch. I thanked them for
their service and for picking up our very
large cartons of toys for kids in need.
They were very humble and said this was
a favorite detail they were assigned to
and looked forward to it next year.
The kids took home small toys and
jars with cookie dough to make cookies
with their families that were provided
by Danie from the Saige Café, compliments
of Le Havre Owners Corp. As
always, the adults enjoyed watching
their kids have fun.
To raise money for the event and to
add a bit of spice to the occasion for
the adults, there was a 50/50 raffle and
several baskets raffled with donated
gifts from several local businesses.
Needless to say, I took my chance with
50/50 and selected my raffle prizes of
choice. At the end of the event, John
Cunningham, our Clubhouse Manager,
called the raffle winners but I was not
one of them. One lucky lady won three
times!! And one lucky guy won the
50/50 for $54 with $54 going to the
Toys for Tots Foundation.
As it was ending, I watched the
thankful Marines take 5 large cartons
of toys the Le Havre community donated
and heard that they had to return
that week to pick up more that were
donated on Sunday!
There were also monetary donations
from several people who brought toys or
came to the event to donate. In addition,
Le Havre collected over $2,400 from
several of our generous vendors and contractors.
Please see the full list of donors
in the accompanying “thank you” flier.
We are a generous community and
those that attended had fun despite the
Covid restrictions, and a good time
was had by all. I’d like to especially
thank Danie from Saige, our club manager
John, and his assistant Leo, for
their help in running the event.
I hope to see you next year for our
Toys for Tots 2021 event—and without
the Covid concern! Thanks all!
P.S. The Le Havre Board and
Management also hosted other holiday
happenings to help lift everyone’s
spirits. First, on Friday, December
11, the Christmas tree in front of the
Management Office was lit at 5 pm.
Danie from Saige provided hot chocolate
to warm chilly participants as holiday
music played in the background.
Then on Saturday, after the Toys for
Tots event, folks gathered to see Board
President Stanley Greenberg light the
first Hanukkah candle in the large
Hanukkah Menorah in the front of
the office garden. Danie provided gift
boxes for attendees with golden “gelt”
chocolate coins, a delicious donut, and
a dreidel for the kids to play with.
Thanks Danie!
About Toys for Tots—and
Le Havre’s Involvement
Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill
Hendricks tends to get the credit for
starting Toys for Tots back in 1947.
In reality it was his wife, Diane, who
provided the spark to get the foundation
going. The story goes that she
had some handmade dolls left over
and asked Bill to bring them to an
agency that supported kids in need.
Bill tried but came back and explained
he couldn’t find such a place, at which
point Diane ordered him, “Start one!”
And so it was that Maj. Hendricks and
others in his Los Angeles reserve unit
collected and distributed 5,000 toys that
year. The Marine Corps Commandant
was so impressed by the success of
the campaign that in 1948 he directed
all US Marine Corps Reserve sites to
implement their own Toys for Tots initiatives
across the country.
Now that was all great, but it didn’t
necessarily mean that a national program
would take off. But it just so
happened that Maj. Hendricks’ day job
was as the Director of Public Relations
for Warner Bros. Studios. Among his
many celebrity contacts was none other
than Walt Disney, who designed the
first Toys for Tots poster—the one with
the little three-car train—which ultimately
became the organization’s logo.
Toys for Tots reports that to date, 584
million toys have been distributed since
the foundation’s inception, helping
upwards of 265 million needy children.
Here at Le Havre, 2020 marked the
29th year that the community hosted a
Toys for Tots event, undaunted by the
current Covid pandemic.
In addition to all the toys contributed
by residents, a conservative estimate is
that at least $2,500 has been collected
in donations each year from residents
and Le Havre’s vendors and contractors.
Our neighborhood businesses also
contribute gift certificates and goodies
to help out the annual 50/50 raffle,
which also goes a long way to raise
more money for the foundation.
In all, Le Havre has collected close
to $75,000 over the years (at least!) for
this vitally important charity. Way to
go, Le Havre, and we all look forward
to the next Le Havre Toys for Tots
event in December.
Management
Office
718-767-7400
(9am-5pm)
Maintenance
Dept.
718-767-6200
(7am-4pm)
LeClub
718-767-2277
Security
718-767-6200
(4pm-7am)
347-925-0954
(emergency back up
number)
109th Precinct
718-321-2250
School Board
#25
718-282-7600
Board of Directors:
Board@Lhocorp.com
Management Office:
Margaret Costello, General Manager
Mcostello@lhocorp.com
Karen Lohman,
Admin. Asst. / Resales & Refinances
Klohman@lhocorp.com
Susana Mendez
Admin Asst. / Accounts Payable
smendez@lhocorp.com
Sandra Smith
Admin Asst. / Receptionist
ssmith@lhocorp.com
General Maintenance
Department Email
Maintenance@lhocorp.com
Peter Turchan
pturchan@lhocorp.com
Chris Treulieb
ctreulieb@lhocorp.com
John Cunningham
Clubhouse Manager (URBNPlayground)
John@Urbnplayground.com
Website address is:
www.lhocorp.com
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