Miles Zeligson: Donating Toys to Help Other Kids

We interview 10-year-old Miles Zeligson, a 5th grader at Eliot Elementary School, about donating toys to Family & Children’s Services.

How did you get started buying and giving gifts to less fortunate children and how long have you been doing it?

I started giving gifts to the kids at Family & Children’s because once during Hannukah I got a lot of cool toys and they were really great. I thought, I get all of these toys, but other people don’t even get one new toy and sometimes they don’t see their parents. So, three years ago I started taking toys down to Family and Children’s for kids that come in for appointments.

(Editor’s note: Miles pointed out that he is Jewish and does not celebrate Christmas, but wants to help other kids celebrate. During Hannukah, he spends one evening choosing and buying toys to give away.)

Why do you do it?

I do it to help kids who maybe don’t get new toys at all.

What is your favorite part of this project?

My favorite part is giving the toys because sometimes I get to see a child there who gets a toy while I am standing there. It’s kind of embarrassing because I would rather give and no one know who is giving the gift.

Do you have a specific story to tell us?

The first time I did this, they were so excited that there was a boy and they gave him a present while I was standing there. I was proud, but embarrassed. I felt badly for him, but glad that I could help him.

What do you think you’ve learned from doing this?

I think that I have learned that I should always be grateful for what I have and not be spoiled and not be upset when I don’t get what I want. Some kids don’t have the chance to complain because they don’t even get one toy for Christmas.