Hat, glove drive starts

Holiday event helps local families

GREEN ISLAND, N.Y. » Members of the Green Island Police Department recently kicked off its third annual holiday drive.

Anyone looking to donate new winter hats and gloves for infants, children and adults for families in the village can do so by dropping those items off in the lobby of the Police Station at 73 George St. or next door in the village office.

“It’s important [to continue to do this] because we’re giving back to the community,” said Stacy McNally, one of the village’s community resource officers. “Every year, the village office next door, they put up a Christmas Tree with ornaments [which] have on the back what each kid has requested from the village, so it actually goes to all the village kids or adults or the seniors and we put them in with their gift baskets with their other presents and one of the [workers from the village] adds the hats and gloves to it.”

McNally estimated that through this drive, they are able to help roughly 20 to 30 families.

“We’re actually taking new hats and gloves for kids and adults… and whatever items aren’t given to the village are going to be donated to Unity House or one of the Albany homeless shelters,” said McNally.

McNally said that she enjoys being a part of the holiday drive since it is a small community and they can see the impact that they make to residents of the village.

“I like Green Island because it’s a small community and we all work together, everybody is very helpful and appreciative and I just like helping all of the kids out,” said McNally. “I know all of the kids and times are tough with money and money is tight for some families and I just feel like hats and gloves is one of the solutions to help the kids that might not have enough money, therefore they can go out and play when it’s cold or wear a hat to school.”

McNally said since the drive started just last week that they have already collected roughly 50 winter hats.

“Facebook ... has blown it up,” said McNally, when referring to the department’s Facebook post

“We’re actually taking newhats and gloves for kids and adults… and whatever items aren’t given to the village are going to be donated to Unity House or one of the Albany homeless shelters.” — Stacy McNally

about the drive.

McNally said that anyone can donate those new winter items up until around the week before Christmas.

For more information, visit the department’s Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/greenislandpolicedepartment/.