Top row, l-r: Shane Byrne, who led the top drive and his Stepinac classmates, Cody Murphy, Thomas Brady, Liam Egan, Jack Doyle and Aidan Carroll and front row, l-r, Derek Saa, John Calise and Tim O’Shea.
Stepinac High School Senior Shane Byrne Lauded By Heavenly Productions Foundation for Organizing Toy Drive, leads Initiative in Memory of his Late Cousin Luke Gallagher, Collecting- Donating 225 Toys
Shane Byrne of Yonkers, a senior at Stepinac High School, was recently lauded by Heavenly Productions Foundation, for organizing a successful toy drive to bring hope and smiles to the gravely ill and injured children who are being treated at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, Valhalla, NY.
Byrne reached out to Heavenly Productions to help with the non-profit’s 8th Annual Toy Drive, a campaign he wanted to undertake in memory of his late cousin, Luke Gallagher, who was a patient at Maria Fareri for 18 months and fought cancer courageously before passing away in 2019 at the age of 12.
In an email to Paul Carty, Principal, Dr. Kathy Reilly Fallon, founder and chairwoman of Heavenly Productions, said: “On behalf of the executive board members, we wish to extend our deepest gratitude to Shane Byrne who organized the toy drive.” Over the past two months, Byrne and a group of his classmates collected and donated 225 toys as well as four blankets. Heavenly Productions delivered Stepinac’s donations to the young patients just in time of the holidays.
Byrne was assisted by fellow students Cody Murphy, Thomas Brady, Liam Egan, Jack Doyle, Aidan Carroll, John Calise and Tim O’Shea, all of Yonkers and Derek Saa of Hartsdale.
Bryne’s was the second drive in memory of Luke Gallagher that was undertaken this year by a Stepinac student (and also a close family member). In the spring, Matthew (Class of ’23) — Luke’s brother– led a successful spring community blood drive. A total of 88 donors (students, faculty, administration, family members and friends, among others) answered the call to help address blood supply shortages, exceeding the drive’s goal of 70 blood donors. As a result, their donations will potentially help save the lives of 264 area hospital patients.
For more information, visit www.Stepinac.org
