8 THE QUEENS COURIER • HOLIDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
holiday
Howard Beach woman collects toys for children in need
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
One Howard Beach resident is championing
Stars shine at
Glendale tree lighting
Photo by John Ciafone
The Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale celebrated the
holidays recently with a tree lighting. Broadway
Stages, located adjacent to the shopping center,
was among the event sponsors. Gina Argento of
Broadway Stages is shown at the tree lighting with
Congresswoman Grace Meng, who thanked the studio
for its support of the event.
Photo courtesy of Brianna Ferranti
Christmas tree lit up at Queens Borough Hall
Photo courtesy of Queens Borough President’s offi ce
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and fellow residents of “The World’s Borough” enjoyed some holiday cheer when the Borough President
hosted the lighting of the Christmas tree in front of Queens Borough Hall on Dec. 4. The event included the singing of Christmas carols and the
serving of Christmas cookies, along with a special visit from Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.
an eff ort that will make the holidays
a little brighter for dozens of local
children.
Brianna Ferranti, 24, created and
began the “Acts of Kindness” toy drive in
November. Th e Queens native has been
overwhelmed by the response, collecting
dozens of toys sent from the local, national
and even global communities.
“We’ve had deliveries from Ireland,
from Texas,” she said. “It’s reaching tons
of people. And it’s changing me.”
Participants are asked to purchase a
new toy, game, book or other gift for
a child between the ages of one and
15. Toys may be delivered directly to
Ferranti’s house or arranged to be picked
up from a specifi ed place in the neighborhood
up until Dec. 18.
Aft er the Dec. 18 deadline, the resident
will then take the gift s and hand deliver
them to the Cohen Children’s Medical
Center in New Hyde Park and St. Mary’s
Hospital for Children in Bayside.
Ferranti, a local teacher, said the drive
began with a conversation with her mother.
“I said, ‘I want to give back. I want to
do something.’ And my mom suggested
a drive,” she said. “From there, the word
just started getting out.”
Ferranti reached out to friends and
family and took to social media, creating
an event page on Facebook and sharing
the link to local groups like Howard
Beach Moms. She also created fl yers with
information about the drive and posted
them in local businesses.
“I’m getting trucks fi lled with gift s, day
and night. I’ve been surprised, for sure,”
she said.
Participation from young children has
been particularly aff ecting, Ferranti said.
On more than one occasion, children
have stopped by with their parents to
eagerly drop off donations, moving her
to tears.
Ferranti said she’s been motivated most
by the desire to counter the negative stories
pervading the global conversation in
recent months.
“I’m a very naive and innocent-minded
person, and the world is very scary these
days,” she said. “So I wanted to do something
that could show that there are good
people, and that people do care about
other people.”
Th ose who wish to participate should
contact Ferranti via Facebook or by
phone at 718-640-4470.
Ferranti with collected donations
