Every Christmas, Carol Suchman donates toys to some of New York City’s poorest children. But this year when she walked by a shuttered toy store with a “Going out of Business” sign in the window, she had an idea.
“When I saw this toy store, I just realized I could do it on a grander scale,” Suchman told NY1 News.
So, being the philanthropic type, she took the opportunity to make use of her means to spread some Christmas cheer, striking a deal with the owner to buy out all the stock.
“When I saw all of the toys just sitting in the store, it occurred to me that it would be so great to be able to somehow get them to the kids in the homeless shelters that have so little,” Suchman told The Huffington Post.
She contacted the owner and proposed buying everything inside.
“We talked and negotiated and bought the entire toy store,” she said.
By store, she means thousands of toys and stuffed animals, and boxes of school supplies too.
She then got in touch with the New York City Department of Homeless Services to find a way to send the gifts out to kids who are most in need this festive season.
“I’ve been doing this for many years and we have many generous sponsors,” Antonio Rodriquez, director of special events at DHS, told NY1 News. “But I have to say, that this is the first time anybody ever bought out an entire store and donated it.”
