Children learn the spirit of giving

Warwick — Each year during the holiday season, the Warwick Day Care Center focuses a portion of the children’s curriculum on “The Spirit of Giving.” Last year the children put together boxes of goods to send oversees to U.S. troops. The soldiers who received the boxes sent the children letters of thanks, and from there a relationship of letter writing was begun. This year the children worked to bring a smile of holiday cheer to those children who would be spending the holiday season in a hospital. Families enrolled in the day care donated money to purchase the materials they needed from the local business, Noah’s Arc. Forty children worked in small groups to build twenty-two stuffed animals. Each animal was unique, and had a special star that the children made wishes on and put into the animal before closing it up. Many wishes were for the sick boys and girls to get better and be able to return home for the holidays. After all of the animals were stuffed, and their birth certificates complete, the children boarded a school bus to deliver the gifts to Westchester Medical Center’s Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. The children of the day care received a tour of the hospital, and left their gifts for the children under an enormous Christmas tree while the children receiving the gifts watched. The children who received these special gifts included those in the burn unit and the oncology unit. The representative from the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital who guided their visit stated that she wished more people were aware of the hospital and the children who are there. Warwick Day Care expressed thanks to those who helped make it possible for the children to be part of such a meaningful experience.