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Bebeto Matthews / AP
"Sandy Claus" Michael Sciaraffo makes a toy delivery to a home in the Bell Harbor neighborhood of New York on Dec. 18, 2012. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by Superstorm Sandy.
Bebeto Matthews / AP
Sciaraffo, a political consultant who has worked for Hillary Clinton and City Hall, sits at his workstation in Brooklyn as he takes a phone request for a toy on Dec. 18, 2012.
The Associated Press reports — From his toy-cluttered Brooklyn apartment, the man in the red suit was making his list and checking it twice. But he made no distinction between naughty or nice: Every child on it would receive a gift from this Santa Claus.
Related: 'Stars of hope' brighten Breezy Point
For the children whose toys floated away during Superstorm Sandy, Michael Sciaraffo is playing the role of a real-life Saint Nick. Every afternoon and night, he stuffs his red sack to the brim with presents and heads out to storm-ravaged homes, personally delivering new toys to awestruck little kids whose play rooms were destroyed by floodwaters.
Bebeto Matthews / AP
Elizabeth Sampol holds her daughter, Ella, 14 months, as she receives a toy from Michael Sciaraffo in the Belle Harbor section of Queens on Dec. 18, 2012.
The charitable enterprise grew out of a Sandy donation outreach effort that Sciaraffo had been spearheading for weeks in the wake of the storm, drumming up donations of clothing and food through Facebook. As the holidays approached, he realized that lots of children would be without their toys this year. Read the full story.
See more images of superstorm Sandy and its aftermath on PhotoBlog
Bebeto Matthews / AP
Ella Sampol looks at her present as her mother Elizabeth and Michael Sciaraffo look on, on Dec. 18, 2012.
Bebeto Matthews / AP
A rainbow appears as Michael Sciaraffo leaves the home of Ella Sampol in Belle Harbor, Queens on Dec. 18, 2012. "You don't see that every day," Sciaraffo said, grinning as his beard slipped down his face a little. "Amazing."
Santa Claus brought early gifts to some of the children in New York affected Hurricane Sandy. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.
Leave a Comment:
What a warm, thoughtful person. It is good to see that there are people out there who care. Thank you and God bless you for your generosity and keeping the true spirit of Christmas alive!
God Bless Sandy Claus. Someone who takes his time out to think of the all the children affected by H. Sandy + do something for them is wonderful + should be commended by all. It's a selfless act to help the children, who are traumatized by losing all they know.
Bah Humbug!! To those people who posted comments about how this family didn't deserve to be visited by Sandy Claus. Well put on your glasses, you Grinches, because you missed the photo of Sandy entering their home + what their 1st + 2nd floors of their home looked like. Also, what mother wears her coat in her own home, usually in a home without heat. I'm sure the baby's coat was off just for the photo shoot. And don't go saying some nonsense that she couldn't pay her heat bill, + it was turned off. No doubt, her furnance was flooded out + she's waiting for a new one. My brother said local vendor waits for furnances, windows, toilets, tubs, stoves, etc are over 8 wks in some areas, but if you're able to drive south of Virginia, you can get these items in 1-2 days. Ditto for car parts, and car rentals.
Sure people make their choices of where they want to live, but most often they hope for the best, + usually have history in their favor {nothing really bad has happened in the past that anyone hasn't been able to recover from}. So when the REALLY BAD STUFF happens, the rest of us just shake are heads + wonder: didn't they know that something like this would happen? In reality, in the past, nothing this BAD REALLY DID happen, so they didn't know.
Just HOPE + PRAY THIS NEVER HAPPENS TO YOU. With all this crazy weather these days, one never knows what weather disaster will happen in our area.
Well done, sir! Well done!
God Bless you "Sandy Claus"!!!!!! Merry Xmas to the World!!!!!!
A wonderful gesture, sir...just wonderful!!!!
To those of you who disparaged this man... BAH HUMBUG!!! Quit complaining and get out there yourself instead of sitting in your cozy warmth at your keyboard. Grief.....
this is one really awsome guy,copy this folks,unbelievable
what a great christmas story,and you see,there is a santa claus.
We should have one of him in every city