Family collecting toys for children at CHOP

RIDLEY TOWNSHIP » Matt Tyson remembers what it is like to be a kid and spending the Christmas holidays in a hospital, tethered to a lot of tubes and machines. That was 11 years ago when Matt received a life-saving liver transplant at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“It wasn’t easy, but waking up (on Christmas) to a bag of gifts at the edge of my bed that Santa dropped off helped me feel a lot better,” Matt recalled.

With that Christmas memory lingering after he recovered, Matt started Matt’s Toy Drive to collect toys for young patients who had to remain at CHOP over the holiday season. The effort has grown over the past 10 years. The toy drive this year will end on Dec. 12. Needed are toys for ages infant to 19 years of age. Unwrapped gifts can be dropped off at both Our Lady of Peace Church or rectory on Milmont Avenue, and Notre Dame deLourdes Church, or the parish school, Fairview Road at Michigan Avenue.

Matt’s brother, Joe Tyson, has taken on the role of coordinator for the toy drive that now takes up a lot of time for the entire Tyson family – mother Nancy, and brothers Tim and John, plus a group of dedicated volunteers. The toys will be loaded onto a donated truck and taken to CHOP, where they are sorted by hospital personnel and distributed according to the ages of the patients.

Matt noted that when he was at CHOP he was one of the lucky ones because his whole family was always with him.

“Many patients are from all around the world and don’t have family with them,” he explained.

“When Matt was in the hospital we became friends with many families and we still keep in touch with some of them, adding that Matt’s Toy Drive is the largest single donor of gifts at

CHOP at Christmas.

Joe said about 120 toys have been collected so far this year, along with $200 in gift cards.

“We’ll reach out to the parents who are trying to get specific things for their family member,” Joe said.

Matt is now 22 and is a student at Delaware County Community College. According to Joe, Matt has “aged out” of CHOP and is now under the care of doctors at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.

For more information contact Joe Tyson at joetys74@aol.com.