Who We Help
HFCF provides assistance to many local organizations and families in need in Monmouth County, NJ.
Over the years we have provided funding and support to the local children’s hospitals, public schools (scholarships to deserving seniors), homeless shelters, organizations that serve kids with disabilities and other non-profits in the community. We have helped countless families, providing financial assistance with everyday life. We have strived to keep underprivileged children fed, clothed and housed in a warm environment.
We assist families that have suffered setbacks get back on their feet.
Along with our supporters, our small group has made a HUGE impact in the lives of so many children! We are blessed with an amazing board and a generous group of friends who believe in what we do.
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Our 2023 Christmas Toy Drive
Our 2023 Toy Drive was a huge success! Thank you to our long time partner, Home Away from Home Academy. With the help of their families and our supporters we were able to help over 500 families with toys and gift cards.
Jerry Carino Asbury Park Press
ABERDEEN - Most 6-year-olds go to school with a backpack or a lunchbox. Declan McCoy shows up with a Santa sack. Sometimes he even dons the red suit and fluffy white beard.
“When Declan was 3, all he wanted for Christmas was a Santa sack,” mom Lisa McCoy said. “He didn’t want toys, he wanted a Santa sack to fill it with toys that he could give to other kids.”
Over the past year, with help from his parents and younger brothers, the Aberdeen kindergartner collected nearly 100 toys for the toy drive at his old preschool, Home Away From Home Academy in Aberdeen. On Wednesday his efforts were recognized with a Youth Community Achievement Award by the Monmouth County-based charity Hope for Children Foundation, which distributed the toys to families throughout the region.
“The toy drive warms our hearts every year, but to see the magnitude of what Declan has done is just extraordinary,” said Heather Sperduto, a member of Hope for Children Foundation’s board. “This is a first for us.”
Declan, who refers to himself as “Declan Claus,” said he wanted to contribute so much to the toy drive because “it makes people happy.”
That’s exactly the point of the school’s involvement with the drive, which rounds up 500-plus toys each year.
“We teach them how much better it is to give than to receive,” Home Away From Home Academy owner Carmine Visone said. “It’s a great lesson. And it’s an emotional experience to see he continues that as he moves on.”
For Declan Claus, that spirit isn’t reserved for December.
“He wears the Santa suit all year — the hat, the boots, the beard,” Lisa McCoy said. “It’s so sweet and we are so proud of him. He just wants to give back, and there’s nothing better.”
Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
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