Courier to help Santa at Schneider’s Children’s Hospital

BY PETE DAVIS

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 5:51 PM EST

With the holiday season right around the corner, The Queens Courier is going to help Santa – this year partnering with Schneider’s Children’s Hospital to make the holiday season a little brighter for the kids.

Over the next three weeks, The Queens Courier will be collecting gifts from you our readers and our advertisers at our office, located at 38-15 Bell Boulevard in Bayside.

The week before Christmas, we will gather all of the gifts and our own Santa and his helpers will deliver them to the young patients at Schneider Children’s Hospital.

“For the past 24 years, The Queens Courier has been a terrific public servant to all of the citizens of our borough and beyond,” said Michelle Pinto, director of media relations at North Shore Long Island Jewish. “Everyone at Schneider’s Children’s Hospital is thrilled that this award winning newspaper has chosen us to be the recipient of their generosity and the generosity of their readers. This is a wonderful example of how community-based journalism can change the lives of its readership.”

Schneider Children’s Hospital is a teaching hospital in New Hyde Park that provides comprehensive care for children ranging in age from infants to young adults. The hospital has 154 beds, and kids receive treatment for everything from childhood diseases to cancer and epilepsy.

As in years past, we are soliciting the help of you, our generous readers, to help make some of these children’s wishes come true. The majority of the children at the hospital are infants to three-years-old and teenagers, so toys, books, games and even gift cards are great ideas.

Check the more thorough list of gift ideas from Schneider Children’s Hospital below.

You can start bringing NEW and UNWRAPPED gifts up to our office on Friday, November 27 and all gifts must be in by Tuesday, December 15, so that we can deliver them to the children before Christmas. We know that this is a difficult year economically for many people, so any gifts you can donate will be greatly appreciated and will truly make a difference in these youngsters’ holiday season.

Those interested in bringing gifts can come to The Queens Courier office, which is located on the second floor at 38-15 Bell Boulevard in Bayside, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you have any questions, please call 718-224-5863, Ext. 221 ¬– ask for Santa Pete.

GIFT SUGGESTIONS

INFANT/TODDLERS

Baby Blankets

Baby Clothes

Baby Socks and Hats

Plastic Baby Toys

Toys with lights, sound, colors

Baby dolls (cloth or plastic)

Brand new tagged stuffed animals

PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN

Play Dough

DVDs

Little Tikes/Fisher Price items

Matchbox/Hot Wheels Cars

Board Games

SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN

Art Kits (markers, crayon packs)

DVDs

Computer Games

Popular Board Games

Puzzles

ADOLESCENTS

DVD movies

Best Buy/I-Tunes Gift Cards

Basketball

Bead Kits

Art Kits

Remote Control Cars

Nail Polish/Makeup Kits