Kids getting off the school bus on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Rotterdam Boys and Girls Club were surprised to see police vehicles in the parking lot and officers inside the club.
“Are people in trouble?” asked a young girl walking in.
On Dec. 13, Santa was wearing a different suit as Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino handed out gifts to children.
Once again the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office drummed up holiday spirit within the department as employees donated money to help purchase around 500 presents for children in needy families who might otherwise not have had much under the tree.
Dagostino said former Sheriff Harry Buffardi started the program with the Boys and Girls Club and Dagostino said he’s happy to continue the tradition of holiday giving. Last year, the department focused on providing gifts to one family in need, but the recent flooding and the economic condition led the department to ramp up efforts. The following day, on Dec. 14, employees from the County Sheriff’s Office headed over to Rotterdam Junction to distribute more presents.
“Not only are we making our yearly stop at the Boys and Girls Club, but tomorrow we are also bringing down gifts to the (Rotterdam Junction) Fire Department,” said Dagostino. “This isn’t me, this is the people that work for the office. I am just the fortunate young man that goes out and is able to deliver these gifts to these kids. The praises have to be heaped on the unions and administrative staff that take their time and are devoted to getting these gifts.”
The local Boys and Girls Club is a special place to Dagostino, because he grew up living down the street from the club and going to it daily.
“This place is near and dear to me, I grew up in this place,” he said. “From the time I was six years old I lived down the street here and I spent my younger years and my early teen years in this place.”
John Vaccaro, unit director for the club, was also at the club when Dagostino attended it.
“We’ve benefited very greatly from its existence so anything that we can do to help it along and help these kids and provide some sort of positive effect on them is a good thing,” he said.
Dagostino also brought along his 7-year-old son, Michael, to help hand out presents to students.
“I brought my son over today to try to teach him the importance of giving,” he said. “I thought this was a good opportunity for him to experience that.”
“Christmas is about giving,” said young Michael Dagostino.
Vaccaro said there are many children at the club from lower to middle income families, so the presents from the Sheriff’s Office assure they’ll have something for Christmas. There are 1,200 children that come to the club and he added more families are in need this holiday season than ever.
“This year we had more people at our Thanksgiving Dinner then we’ve ever had before,” said Vaccaro. “We have had many phone calls from parents wondering whether or not we could help them with food, gifts for Christmas. This is one of the ways we counteract that.”
He added the event also allows kids see what it’s like to give back.
“Even though a lot of them haven’t done it themselves yet cause of their ages, they have a good idea now on what it is like to give back,” he said. “Hopefully someday it will encourage them to be volunteers and leaders in the community.”
