For These Holidays, You Can Get Toys to Needy Kids in PR

According to legend / Fact, the Three Kings traveled from afar to bring gifts to the newborn Jesus: gold, for a king; incense, for a god; and… Myrrh. In Puerto Rico, each January 6 is Three Kings Day. The night before, children pick grass and put it in a box, and then place it under their bed for the Three Kings’ camels—and the Kings leave toys for the kids. If you leave toys, you don’t get grass. I’ve been told.

As you know, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico back on September 20, and its effects are ongoing. By today, December 16, much more than half of all homes lack electricity. Many still lack running water. Nearly 300,000 have left the island since the storm. Unemployment rose 400% last November. In the face of this misery, a modest donation can get toys to needy kids for Three Kings Day, the main celebration of the holiday season in Puerto Rico.

Toys R Us set up a program to distribute toys, to Puerto Rican families who can’t afford them, on January 6, 2018. The program is a collaboration with Lin Manuel Miranda, the Hispanic Federation and R.Evolución Latina, has the goal of providing 10,000 toys to needy children. The toys are on this page, and you can make gifts worth $5, $10 or $20.

 Throughout this disaster, Puerto Rico has been blessed by solidarity and generosity—from within and abroad. Your actions, and thoughts, are deeply appreciated. Happy Holidays to all.