Harrison teen brings treats to others
Editor’s note: Each week, the Gloucester County Times seeks to honor those county residents who volunteer their time and service for the community. If someone you know deserves recognition, send an e-mail to Jessica Beym at jbeym@sjnewsco.com.
HARRISON TWP. For the past eight years 16-year-old Sal Dragone has dedicated his time and energy into making Halloween as fun as possible for kids stuck in a bad situation.
When he was 7, Sal went out trick-or treating, just like most normal kids do on Halloween, but he was bothered by the fact that two of his friends were sick and couldn’t go. He asked his parents if they could bring candy to the kids that couldn’t come out.
“They didn’t really take me seriously until I started selling my toys,” he said.
That’s right, the next year around the beginning of August, an 8-year-old Sal started bringing his toys outside and selling them to passers-by to raise money.
Once his parents realized that he wasn’t going to let the idea go, they started looking into how he could do the project. They contacted hospitals and corporate sponsors and began the foundation.
Now the family delivers gift bags filled with toys, coloring books, crayons and trinkets to more than 1,500 kids in five states Ð candy isn’t allowed at the hospitals because of food allergies.
“My goal is to go to every state and every hospital,” he said.
Healing Hearts has brought Sal a lot of attention, including television and radio interviews and being invited to Eagles games to raise funds, but he was recently asked to speak at a luncheon about his efforts.
“I wasn’t really nervous until I got up there,” he said as he compared his relatively new charity to some of the big shots he shared the day with. “It was like playing Little League baseball with Ryan Howard.”
Healing Hearts depends solely on donations, and while companies such as McDonald’s gives coupons, personal monetary donations are necessary to keep the project going.
The family waits until the beginning of October, then they count up the funds they’ve raised and begin choosing items for the bags, usually from Oriental Trading Co., a mail-order business through which they can bulk-order fun toys, games and books.
They then gather friends together to have a few packing days, where everyone stuffs the bags.
“I like the actual delivery day the most,” Sal said. “When I get to hand-deliver, that’s cool.”
And hand-deliver he does, to as many local hospitals he can, including Underwood-Memorial Hospital, Cooper University Hospital and Alfred I. duPont Hospital for children.
Bags are shipped to hospitals in Pennsylvania, New York and Tennessee.
In addition to hospitals, Sal recently added a few shelters to the list of delivery locations, an inclusion that has brought a whole new perspective to the project.
“The kids in the hospitals are sick, but they can go home. It’s cool because those kids don’t have anything,” Sal said.
To donate to the organization, visit www.healingheartsonhalloween.org.
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