'No child should be going without during the holidays': Toy drive underway at Fall River cafe
FALL RIVER — The spirit of giving in the coming holiday season is alive and well in the South End, with new business owners Christopher and Nathan Silvia looking to spread the cheer with a giant toy drive and Christmas party for the little ones.
“This all stems from wanting to give back and making sure no kids are left behind. No child should be going without during the holidays,” said Nathan Silvia.
Nathan and Christopher are owners of the hugely popular Christopher’s on South Main Street that only opened in March, while the café was still under construction.
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Since then, customers have become obsessed with their made from scratch food, logging in to the pairs Facebook page daily to see what delectable meals and goodies will be featured that day.
The toy drive and scheduled Christmas party is not the first event the pair has hosted to give back to the community. Over the summer, they provided free pizza to kids daily, concerned some children might be going hungry because they weren’t getting their meals through their schools.
They also recently hosted a Halloween party for the neighbors.
The Silvias started a toy drive to collect toys to be distributed through the Fall River police and fire departments. Christopher has a son who is an officer at the FRPD.
Nathan said the first load of donated toys were out the door on Wednesday after two FRFD fire trucks stopped by and hauled away the goods.
Now the pair are hoping to go another round of collecting toys and clothes for kids that will be given to the police department to help with their toy drive.
On Friday, the toys already began to pile up, with one woman dropping off a wagon full of gifts.
Christopher and Nathan will be accepting toy donations at the café up until Dec. 9, the day they’ll be hosting a party for kids and their parents, complete with a visit from Santa and time set aside for children with sensory issues.
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The party will be from 1 to 5 p.m., with the first two hours from 1 to 3 p.m. for the children with sensory issues, said Nate.
“We will do it on a schedule basis, with 20-minute blocks with about 12 people at a time. That way no one will be over stimulated,” said Nathan. “Then at 3 p.m. we’ll open it up for the rest of the kids.”
Nathan and Christopher found a volunteer who has a Master’s degree related to working with kids with sensory issues.
Nathan said it's their pleasure to give back to the community.
“Everybody’s been really good to us,” he said. “It’s what we want to do, it’s what we should do.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River cafe owners host toy drive, sensory-friendly holiday party
