{"id":71797,"date":"2025-12-16T01:22:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T01:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/71797\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T01:22:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T01:22:15","slug":"nyc-drop-off-lockers-become-hubs-for-toys-headed-to-hospitalized-children-heres-how-the-program-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/71797\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC drop-off lockers become hubs for toys headed to hospitalized children. Here’s how the program works."},"content":{"rendered":"

For Aaron Green, a stop at the toy store is part of his routine this holiday season.<\/p>\n

The Columbia University student isn’t shopping for friends or family. Instead, he’s picking out gifts for children he’s never met: a Lego set for a little boy and a doll for a young girl, all destined for Toys for Hospitalized Children.<\/a><\/p>\n

“It’s really amazing to see the light on a kid’s face and in their eyes when you bring them a toy and play with them, and it can really make their day,” Green told CBS News New York’s Hannah Kliger as he browsed the shelves.<\/p>\n

Green said he decided to get involved after watching his sister’s spirits lift during a hospital stay years ago, when volunteers brought music and toys to her room.<\/p>\n

“It really was an amazing experience for her. And they came in, sang songs with her and played guitar, and it just made her feel so much better,” he said.<\/p>\n

Go Locker’s role in bringing holiday cheer<\/p>\n

After shopping, Green drives a few blocks to a Go Locker<\/a> location in Borough Park. With a few scans on his phone, a locker door clicks open, accepting his donation.<\/p>\n

Nigel Thomas, founder of Go Locker, says the idea for the partnership with TFHC grew out of Thomas’ own experience welcoming a child while surrounded by families facing much harder circumstances.<\/p>\n

“My wife and I, we brought into the world a baby girl and while we were at the hospital, there were some other folks that were not in great situations. And I thought to myself, well, ‘good Lord, what can we do to make life better?'” Thomas recalled.<\/p>\n

Thomas said he wanted to find a fast, free and accessible way for people to donate toys throughout the city. His Brooklyn-based company was the perfect solution.<\/p>\n

“Our lockers are micro storage devices, and it could be used for much more than just transactional needs,” he said.<\/p>\n

There are now more than 70 Go Locker locations across New York City, most of them in Brooklyn. Toys dropped off at the lockers are sent to a distribution center before being delivered to hospitals.<\/p>\n

“It brings joy to the children”<\/p>\n

At Maimonides Medical Center, 4-year-old Alan Tcherevatenko was feeling shy during an overnight stay following a medical emergency. That changed when JJ Hecht from Toys for Hospitalized Children arrived carrying a giant set of Legos, quickly capturing Alan’s attention.<\/p>\n

His father, Stan Tcherevatenko, said the impact goes beyond a moment of fun.<\/p>\n

“It brings joy to the children as well, which can help them get better,” he said.<\/p>\n

Hecht said that emotional boost is central to the organization’s mission.<\/p>\n

“We believe that a positive outlook really helps a child forget about the illness, not to get stuck in it, but rather to go above it and really get better,” Hecht said. “We’re partnering with a dozen hospitals in New York City and 36 hospitals nationwide this holiday season. And we will be delivering 30,000 toys that children all across the country.”<\/p>\n

Founded in 1953, Toys for Hospitalized Children works year-round, but the holiday season marks its largest push. This year, thanks in part to the locker partnership, thousands more toys are expected to reach children’s hospital rooms.<\/p>\n

As donations continue to roll in, organizers say each locker door unlocks a moment of joy for a child who needs it most.<\/p>\n

Have a story idea or tip in Brooklyn? Email Hannah by\u00a0CLICKING HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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