Last week I met with a remarkable young man, Jonathan Miller, and his father, Michael. Jonathan was diagnosed three years ago with Aspergers Syndrome, and in looking for more information, Michael ran across an autism support page on Facebook. He posted a photo of Jonathan’s room, which was decorated with Thomas the Tank Engine trains and Disney cars, and asked if anyone wanted some toy trains or cars, as Jonathan had outgrown them.
The response was overwhelming. “On that one post, we got maybe 20 or 30 requests for trains,” Michael said. He started sending one toy a day to families who have a child with autism, and Toys AUcross America grew from there. Now they have their own Facebook page, and they continue to take requests for toys. Because of shipping costs, he will only send them to families within the U.S.; while he only sends toys to families with children with autism, he doesn’t ask if they are rich or poor. “I tell them whether they are well off or well behind, we will send them a toy,” he said.
“We have an electronic map online where I plot everywhere I ship to,” Michael told me. “You can realize it’s in your state, your city, your town. You may see a dot on your street—I have hand delivered two things in Melrose.”
If anyone would like to donate new or gently used toys to Toys AUcross America, we will have a bin in our office through the holiday season.
Mayor Infurna's Blog 