News release from Mayor’s Office:
Mayor Joe Ganim is uniting the Bridgeport community to support Toys for Tots Christmas drive to replace the nearly 1,000 toys designated for local children that were stolen from the Greater Bridgeport Christian Fellowship Church (GBCF) this past weekend.
“We are going to make every effort to ensure no child is left without a toy,” said Mayor Ganim. “We want to turn around this heartbreaking situation into a Christmas miracle to demonstrate the resilience and compassion of the Bridgeport community.”
The City of Bridgeport has raised nearly $2,000 in supportive contributions and community donations collected during the Downtown Christmas Tree Lighting on Monday night with the help of the Bridgeport Fire Department. The funds will be used to repurchase toys to provide 6,000 local children with gifts to open on Christmas morning.
Marine Toys for Tots Coordinator and Pastor of GBCF Eric Torres said, “We are grateful to the Mayor and the City of Bridgeport for their contribution and for helping us get the word out to recover the 1,000 toys that have been stolen from us. We are still in need to meet our goal to serve the 1,600 families registered for holiday assistance but we will forever be grateful for the generous hearts of those individuals who have responded from near and far to ensure that every child in our community is able to smile on Christmas.”
Those interested in donating to the cause can call 203-726-3614 or 203-726-3610, or visit bridgeport-ct.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx.
I would like to implore the Firebird Society of Bridgeport to make a substantial contribution in support of the Toys for Tots program so that the disadvantage youth of Bridgeport can have the Christmas that they deserve.
great story , but would really love for the city to go all out to capture the scumbags
Wait a minute. 1,000 toys were stolen and Joe wants to replace that with 6,000?
Sounds more like a contribution to the re-elect Mayor Joe Ganim then to replace toys that were taken.
But what can you expect from Mayor Joe.
It would be far more in the spirit of Christmas to unanimously raise the money and toys then to go about publicly seeking funds and praise.