Shopping with the pastor

WARWICK — Joseph Sullivan is only eight years old but when he recently traveled to Staten Island with his family to bring food and blankets to victims of Hurricane Sandy, he was disturbed by what he saw.

““It was really sad. The people were camping out in the cold,” he recalled. “They said the water was higher than their houses and you had to be careful because there were robbers there. And the children lost all their toys.”

Joseph is a member of KidsFirst, a children’s ministry at Warwick’s Church of the Nazarene on Route 94.

On Saturday, Dec. 1, he and other members of the KidsFirst along with their parents and pastor, the Rev. Bruce Barnard, headed over to the Toy Chest, 62 Main St. in the Village of Warwick to buy gifts for Staten Island children affected by Hurricane Sandy.

The event, “Shopping with the Pastor,” had been organized by KidsFirst pastor Ann Van Hine.

25% discount on all toys

Sue Loughren, owner of the Toy Chest, offered a 25 percent discount on all items and other participating merchants also offered special incentives for parents who could do their own shopping or buy gifts for adult victims after dropping off their children.

Members of a teenage ministry, Velocity, also served as “Shopping Buddies,” to help out with the event.

After shopping, everyone headed back to the church to wrap the gifts and enjoy a pizza party. In about a week or two volunteers will take the gifts to churches and firehouses in Staten Island for distribution.

“There’s something special about watching kids who get the message of serving others,” said Barnard. “Our kids not only showed up to shop, they wanted to do it because they knew that other kids were hurting this year. And we also got to help Main Street businesses that are here for us every day. It was a win-win.”

Helping out here and elsewhere

Barnard praised Van Hine who had the KidsFirst children pick paper doll cutouts describing the gender and size of a child so that they could select proper toy gifts.

“She did an amazing job of organizing what could have been so chaotic,” he said.

He also thanked Warwick merchants, parents and other church members for their cooperation as well as teen pastor Andrew Magnuson and Barbara Sklar, who has also been organizing help throughout Warwick for people suffering from Hurricane Sandy.

Essential information

Barbara Sklar heads a Warwick Chapter of Relay for Relief, an organization founded to support communities in times of great need.

Her Web site is www.relayforrelief.com