The Key Club at Christ the King R.H.S., Middle Village, and the Christ the King Community Daycare/Pre-School combined their efforts to collect books, pajamas and stuffed animals for Catholic Charities.

The gifts were delivered to the organization in Astoria for their annual Christmas party.

The efforts were led by teachers Lisa Longobardi, Charlene Machado and Carol Timpone, assistant principal.

“The recipients were so appreciative it brought tears to my eyes,” Timpone said. “The families were so happy to receive pajamas for their children!

“We take so many things for granted and sometimes forget there are so many needy people right in our own community. We are proud to support the efforts of Catholic Charities.”

Thomas Bieniewicz, senior, was among those who volunteered to make this project possible.

“We were all so happy to work together to collect so many wonderful items,” he said. “It wasn’t until we were loading the van and saw all the toys and pajamas that it became very real. We knew we were part of something special and this would make many children happy.”