Holiday giving a year-round effort for Children's Charity of Greater Binghamton volunteers
A group of volunteers is making sure Broome County children in need have a brighter holiday next month and again next spring when Easter rolls around.
Now in its 15th year, the charity’s two main projects are collecting toys for Toys for Tots during Give Back Friday and an Easter egg hunt held the Saturday before Easter in Binghamton’s Recreation Park.
“Our mission is to enhance the life of children in the Greater Binghamton area,” said Sue Bucci, the chairwoman of the board of directors for the Children’s Charity of Greater Binghamton.
The idea for the charity started back when her now adult children were in college and would hold a party at the Bucci home in Binghamton the Friday after Thanksgiving. The children and their friends came up with the idea of doing something good for the community. The first year they collected some donations for Toys for Tots, Bucci said.
“We started out small. We wanted to fill a need to help kids,” Bucci said. “It blossomed from a small group of friends from Seton and Binghamton High School.”
Now it’s become a 501(c)(3) charity with a board of directors and a mission statement to help children in need. In Broome County, some 32.7% of families live below the poverty level, Bucci said.
That’s why they hold Give Back Friday on the Friday after Thanksgiving. They partner with Mirabito and collect toys and monetary donations in exchange for refreshments and discounted gas at the gas station across from Target in Vestal. There’s also an evening event the same day.
“People have been very generous,” and eager to stop and donate a toy or drop a few dollars into collection buckets, she said. “We could not do it without the rest of the community donating to us.”
All donations are given to the Toys for Tots division run through the Binghamton Police Department, she said. The age limit is zero to 10. But if a family has a child older than 10, the charity steps up to provide some gifts.
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“These kids still need Christmas,” she said. “We can help them.”
The charity also donates gifts to teens residing at the Catholic Charities teen transitional home, she said.
“We just try to make their holiday time better,” she said.
In addition to helping children at Christmas time, the charity also runs the largest Easter egg hunt in the area on the Saturday before Easter at Binghamton’s Recreation Park. They hunt for 30,000 eggs stuffed with either candy or prize tickets that children can redeem on site, Bucci said.
The Easter egg hunt is named in memory of Harper Stantz, a 16-year-old Binghamton girl who lived near the park, and was killed after being hit by a car in 2019. Harper’s sister, Rylee Stantz, is a member of the charity’s board and a dedicated volunteer, Bucci said.
Once the last toy is donated next month, the charity will take a few weeks off to decompress, Bucci said.
“On Jan. 1st, the email chain starts again,” she said. “We have to get ready for Easter.”
More about Sue Bucci
Home and hometown: Binghamton
Career: Retired sales representative
Family: Husband, former Binghamton mayor Rich Bucci; three grown children Caroline, Peter and Liz; four grandchildren
If you go: Give Back Friday is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Mirabito gas station on the Vestal Parkway across from Target. Refreshments and discounted gas are available to anyone who donates new, unwrapped toys or monetary donations.
The evening party is scheduled for 6-10 p.m. at the Old Union Hotel Hall on Grace Street in Binghamton across from the Old Union Hotel restaurant. Tickets cost $100 for two people in advance or $25 at the door. The event includes food, beer, wine, soda, a silent auction, raffles and music by DJ Chris Jach. Those attending can bring new, unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots.
For more information: To learn more about the Children’s Charity of Greater Binghamton including how to donate or become more involved, find them on Facebook or go to binghamtonkids.com
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Giving Back: Holiday drive helps children in Binghamton area
