“This is a year of giving, not getting,” a mother explained to her child at the annual Broad Channel Christmas Tree Lighting on Thursday, December 4. The Broad Channel Athletic Club used this year’s event to collect toys and pay it forward to those in need.
More than a hundred people came out to the Broad Channel Athletic Club Memorial Field to celebrate the lighting of the BCAC’s Christmas tree. Guests were treated to Christmas carols by the Broad Channel Girl Scouts and the P.S. 47 chorus and dance performances by Thomasina’s Dance Company. Parents also brought baked goods and All American Deli donated hot chocolate for the families to enjoy on the chilly evening.
The residents of Broad Channel were grateful for receiving help and gifts following Sandy, so they took this year’s tree lighting as an opportunity to give back. “One of the girls in the club came up with the idea to pay it forward because we got so much help from others during Sandy,” BCAC member and event organizer Jack Allen said. Resident Debbie O’Connor has a connection with Steven & Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Long Island, so the BCAC collected toys at the event to give to the Pediatric Hematology / Oncology department.
“This is the first year we’ve done this. Two years ago, right after the storm, we gave out toys that were donated to us and we were on the receiving end. We had donations from all over, from three different states. This time, we said it’s time for us to pay it forward or return the favor to someone in need and obviously the kids and Cohen’s Medical Center fit that category,” Allen said. T
he BCAC was able to collect more than 80 toys at the tree lighting.
There were a few big winners at the event. Suzanne Arnao and her family won tickets to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas at Madison Square Garden. Peter Guitteri won the raffle for two round-trip Jet Blue flight tickets. The Jet Blue raffle was held to raise money for the Broad Channel Christmas lights that decorate Cross Bay Boulevard.
With the help of the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department, Santa arrived by fire truck and paid the Broad Channel kids a visit at the end of the event. Each child received a small teddy bear and candy cane and got to tell Santa what they want for Christmas. “For the Athletic Club, this is a nice tradition. We do this for the kids,” Allen said. “Kids light up like the moon when they see Santa Claus. It was a really nice event.”
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