Long Island woman organizes toy drive - KMSP-TV

Long Island woman organizes toy drive

Cheryl Schiffman, of West Islip, N.Y., is on a mission to spread holiday cheer.

"There's toys in our basement, there's toys in every room of our house, so it's bigger than I thought it would be," she says.

After watching her sister-in-law throw out her nephew's toys after Superstorm Sandy flooded out their home, Schiffman got resourceful. She created a Facebook page called "Helping Hurricane Sandy's Children."

It was a small idea that turned into thousands of toys being delivered to her doorstep.

"It started getting bigger and bigger, I started an amazon website for people out of state to order things and have it shipped here," she says.

So many shipments came in that Schiffman had to borrow a trailer to hold the gifts. She plans on donating them to schools and community centers. 

But first those gifts need to be wrapped, which is why Schiffman's friends and family have gathered together on a December evening.

"I know Christmas isn't just about toys, but for kids it is, and I think it's really important that they have their toys replaced and they have a happy holiday," she says.

Cheryl says she enjoyed wrapping all of those gifts, but says the next phase of her mission is perhaps the very best: delivering all of those gifts to children.