WOODLAND PARK, N.J. — Jayden Perez, 8, hysterically cried when he opened a gift from his parents. Inside an envelope hidden in the couch was a pair of VIP tickets to a New York Giants game. Perez is a diehard fan.
“I started crying,” he said. “Because I never went to a Giants game.”
His mom got the tickets as a gift from her boss.
This grateful third-grader is now paying it forward. He and his mother, Ana Rosado, have organized a toy drive to benefit children devastated by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
“I’m teaching him, you know, from a younger age, that he should lend a helping hand,” Rosado said.
There are now almost 900 toys piled high in boxes in their basement. Rosado said two women who are friends of the family will hand deliver all the gifts to children in areas hardest hit by the storm. They plan to fly down in time for Three Kings Day, which is apart of the celebration of Christmas and is observed on Jan. 6.
“To help the people who need to make a kid, a happy boy, happy girl, happy children,” said Hector Pena, a total stranger who stopped by tonight to donate several bags of gifts.
The family will be accepting donations until Dec. 15.
For more information on how to donate, you can call 201-913-6543 or contribute money for more toys here.
