Contact: John Vigiano
Phone: 631.940.2006
Fax: 631.586.5429
Constantino Brumidi Lodge
2075 Deer Park Avenue
Deer Park, NY 11729
O.S.I.A. ~ Constantino Brumidi Lodge #2211
Press Release
Deer Park, New York January 9th , 2011: On Saturday December 11, the Constantino Brumidi Lodge Order Sons of Italy in America - John Vigiano, President - hosted a special toy drive fundraiser organized and chaired by member Anthony Macaluso Jr. on behalf of the United States Marine Corps Reserve of Amityville Toys for Tots. Bringing joy to hundreds of Suffolk County children by helping the Marines, Mr. Macaluso and The Constantino Brumidi Lodge, filled the Marines 7 ton truck with over 1,200 new toys for the Christmas season. The Trustees of the Constantino Brumidi Hall graciously donated its hall to this worthy event. In addition to live entertainment, there were plenty of kid activities to do including a letter writing table where the children wrote letters to Marines stationed overseas. Joining the festivities were Gail King, Ms. Senior America 2009, Elisabeth Zamarelli, Ms Senior New York 2010, and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy who took a moment to write a personal letter to the Armed Forces stationed overseas. The Constantino Brumidi Lodge would also like to thank all the Marines that attended and helped load their 7 ton truck with the toys and let the kids sit in their trucks and the Humvee. And, without all of the volunteers that came out to help, the generosity of the Macaluso family, and the 25 sponsors who donated food, beverages, and gift-baskets, this event would not have been possible.
Over the 62 years of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Marines have distributed more than 400 million toys to more than 188 million needy children. This charitable endeavor has made U. S. Marines the unchallenged leader in looking after less fortunate children at Christmas. Over its 18 year life span, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has supplemented local toy collections with more than 81.3 million toys valued at more than $487 million; plus has provided promotion and support materials valued at over $6.3 million. The Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), a not-for-profit organization, is the largest and oldest national organization for men and women of Italian heritage in the United States. Founded in 1905 as a mutual aid society for the early Italian immigrants, today OSIA has more than 600,000 members and supporters and a network of more than 650 coast to coast, making it the leading service and advocacy organization for the nation's estimated 26 million people of Italian descent.