On January 6, 2015, staff of Ibero-American Action League Family Support Unit delivered toys to 73 children enrolled in the program. The delivery of toys was sponsored by the Rochester Latino Rotary Club. For the last 5 years, the club has been delivering toys to children in different settings. The first three years toys were provided to over one hundred children at the Ibero´s Day Care Center. Last year, the beneficiaries were children residing at Alternatives for Battered Women. The toys are donated by the US Marines Toys for Tots Program. The club has been fortunate to have this support.
Coordination of the effort falls on Charol Ríos-Davis, chair of Service Projects for the club. She is assisted by club members who gather every year to wrap and deliver the toys to the designated sites.
The Family Support Unit Program at the Ibero American Action League assists families and their children to connect with a variety of services in the community to meet their needs. The main goal of the program is to ensure safety for the children and to maintain the family unit together. Many of these families live under poverty level, reason why gifts of toys for the children during the holidays is such a happy experience for these children.
Elisa DeJesús, Vice President for the Family Support Unit, states that the program staff who deliver the gifts for the children attest to how fulfilling experience it is to see the happy faces of the children when they receive their toys..
Luisa Baars
President, Rochester Latino Rotary Club