EASTON, Pa. — He's not Santa Claus, but Easton Councilman-elect Frank Pintabone will be bearing a bundle of gifts for children in need throughout the city’s South Side and West Ward neighborhoods on Saturday.
In partnership with the Greater Shiloh Church and the Heart of a Legend Organization, Pintabone will distribute presents for newborns through 13-year-olds at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, at Pino’s Pizza, and again at 12 p.m. at Centennial Park.
Giveaways are first-come, first-served, so Pintabone is encouraging parents and caregivers to arrive on time, or even a little early.
“If you see a need and you're capable and able to do it, you just step up and do it. If you wait for another group or another business or organization or individual to come around and do it, you might be waiting for a while. So, if you see a need and you're able to fill it, then you do it.”Easton City Councilmember-Elect Frank Pintabone
Pintabone said he was inspired to launch the Holiday Toy Giveaway following the success of his most recent Thanksgiving turkey giveaway.
Wishing to make the event a part of the community as a whole, Pintabone reached out to Greater Shiloh Church — which has campuses in Easton, Bethlehem, Stroudsburg and Haiti — and hometown hero Larry Holmes and his wife Diane’s Heart of a Legend nonprofit.
Both organizations were exuberant to join in the philanthropic effort.
“I created the Pintabone Foundation a while back, and we had some donations left after the turkeys," Pintabone said. "We did the lights on the South Side, and I had a couple of dollars left, but not much.
"And then I reached out to some people and they said, ‘Hey, man, we want to donate a couple dollars, we'll donate this and that.’
“So I raised a couple of dollars, Shiloh added some money, Heart of a Legend added some money. I had a couple of people that reached out on Facebook and said, ‘Hey, I want to give a couple gifts.’”
A way to give back
Nina Alexander, a member of the Heart of a Legend and niece of Larry and Diane Holmes, said the organization was happy to join the effort after working alongside Pintabone in the past.
It also has contributed to various food drives and helping other nonprofits.
“We embrace a mission that really stems from a scripture, Matthew 25, where Jesus talks about multiple ways to take care of our brothers and sisters. And he says that when you take care of your brothers and sisters, you take care of Him.Greater Shiloh Pastor Jason Vanderburg
“Every year we set up a fund in our budget so that at Christmas and Thanksgiving, we can be a part of giving back to the community," Alexander said.
"Because that's one of the main reasons why we've created our foundation, to give back. So anytime an organization reaches out to us, we have a budget set up that we can reach out and help as well, because that's what we're here to do."
Greater Shiloh Pastor Jason Vanderburg said joining Pintabone’s Holiday Toy Giveaway was an obvious decision, as he and his congregation believe the mission to fall in line with their faith.
Vanderburg said they also have worked alongside other organizations with a similar goal in the past.
“We embrace a mission that really stems from a scripture, Matthew 25, where Jesus talks about multiple ways to take care of our brothers and sisters," Vanderburg said.
"And he says that when you take care of your brothers and sisters, you take care of Him. He talks about feeding those who need food, clothing those who need clothes, visiting those who need a visit.
"And there is no particular verse in Matthew 25 about toy giveaways, but we believe it to be relevant scripture. Our church has really made it its mission to serve the local community.”
'See a need and you're able to fill it'
So when Councilman-elect Pintabone reached out to the church, "it was a no-brainer," Vanderburg said.
"You know, we've partnered before, and we work with Toys for Tots each year for the toy giveaway," he said. "So we'll have an opportunity now working with the councilman to have a double opportunity to impact the community and to work with a friend, so we’re overjoyed to do it.”
"If you wait for another group or another business or organization or individual to come around and do it, you might be waiting for a while. So if you see a need and you're able to fill it, then you do it.”Easton Councilman-elect Frank Pintabone
Pintabone said that he, along with the Holmes family and Greater Shiloh Church, have been involved in the community for years, and have seen first-hand the needs and wants of the people who live there.
And when their fellow people are found to be struggling during the holiday season, they were more than happy to give back and raise up the community themselves, he said.
"We know what's lacking, we know the community, we have the pulse of the community, and you can't wait for somebody else or some other entity to do it for you,” Pintabone said.
“If you see a need and you're capable and able to do it, you just step up and do it.
"If you wait for another group or another business or organization or individual to come around and do it, you might be waiting for a while. So if you see a need and you're able to fill it, then you do it.”
