Reprinted from the East Hartford Gazette-It took Tatiana Rivera 11, a student at Sunset Ridge School,
and Julia Rivera 8, a pupil at Goodwin Elementary, two years to collect hundreds
of the plastic toys that come with the kids' meals in fast food
restaurants.
For two years they also had to resist the urge of every kid:
Tearing open the little plastic bags to play with the toy they could clearly see
inside.
But they resisted. Tatiana and Julia had a better idea.
Now,
with the help of their mother and their grandmother, boxes of their collected,
unopened 'Happy Meal' toys will travel to the other side of the planet. They
packed them all up this week and took them to be shipped to Nairobi, Kenya.
There they will be a surprise for local kids in need.
Nice enough. But it will not only
be the plastic toys the two girls will send off to Kenya. Their grandmother,
Linda Carrasquillo, said the girls also found time to add in some school
supplies to ship to the students in Africa.
"We are doing this because we
want the kids in Africa to have a nice Christmas," explained Tatiana this week.
"Because they don't have a lot of toys, and we have," Julia added.
The
effort is part of a lesson their mother, LeNissa Rivera, has imparted to her
girls. Their grandmother explains it is simply a message of charity, and what it
means to share.
"At first they where unsure about giving away toys -
their toys," Rivera smiles. "But they really got into it. And then they had a
lot of fun. Now they are very excited for the kids in Africa to have at least
something, a little bit of what they are having. And for them to be doing it now
during the Christmas season is really great."
Why did they chose Kenya?
The family has a connection with the Salvation Army explained
Carrasquillo. They belong to the East Hartford Corps, and LeNissa Rivera works
at the organization's headquarters in Hartford. The entire family has been
motivated and inspired by the church's message of charity and help for the less
fortunate.
And, since the Salvation Army runs a mission in Kenya that
will distribute the gifts to children who need them, that was an obvious
destination for the girls' generosity.
Still the grandmother says, sending
the toys to Nairobi proved more difficult and expensive than they had realized.
But knowing how important it is for Tatiana and Julia to give happiness to
children less fortunate, the family is very determined to follow through with
the sisters' plan.
That also is not the only project the two girls are
involved in reveals their grandmother. With Christmas around the corner, and the
Salvation Army's familiar red kettles set up everywhere, the two girls also want
to ring the bell at Salvation Army kettles around town. So, if Gazette readers
happen to see two very young girls standing out there, in the cold, ringing a
bell you can stop and thank them for a job well done.
"I'm really proud
of them," says their mother as their grandmother also beams.
PROVIDENCE - Wednesday,
December 3rd was a huge day for The Rhode Island State Office of TSA .
On that day the largest philanthropic foundation in the Ocean State
bestowed a grant of $167,000 on the Good Neighbor Energy Fund . The
grant was presented by Neil Steinberg, president and chief executive
officer of the Rhode Island Foundation.
(Pictured in the photo are L to R Mr. Neil Steinberg, RI Foundation Pres and CEO, Major Doug Burr and Mr. George Graboys, Chm. Of the Bd of the R.I. Foundation and former CEO of Citizens Bank)
This unprecedented emergency donation was part of an overall
$500,000 gift to assist three organizations in Rhode Island which
provide the needy with food, shelter and heat. The other two
recipients,which also received $167,000 each, were The R.I. Community
Food Bank and Crossroads RI, the largest homeless shelter in the state.
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The "Holiday Meal Program," started in 1970, has become an annual tradition for many families and individuals. Volunteers met at Salvation Army Divisional Headquarters, located at 855 Asylum Avenue in Hartford. The volunteers delivered a warm meal and a friendly face to the homebound, isolated elderly individuals that they served. Happy Thanksgiving!
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