The Granby Lions and Shannon-Shattuck American Legion Post 182 joined forces to collect toys for Hartford Hospital Children’s Center during the holiday season. All of the toys and more than 50 people came together for a celebratory dinner on December 19, 2023 at the Legion Hall in Granby. The event was so well received, the two community-focused organizations are calling it the First Annual Granby Lions – American Legion Holiday Party.
Legion Hall was filled with more than party goers and yuletide cheer … more than 1,200 toys were collected for eventual gifting to young patients of the Hartford Hospital Children’s Center in the coming year. Particularly heartwarming were the many hundreds of donations from Amazon drivers and employees from their distribution center in South Windsor. “The collection box literally filled up overnight!” according to Cliff Burrell, a member of the Granby Lions and Legion Post 182. The Granby Leos also helped contribute toys for the effort.
“The Toy Drive was a huge success! The Lions-Legion holiday party was a warm and joyful event. Clearly, we do great things together. To borrow a line from Casablanca, ‘This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,’” exclaimed Lions President Tony Cappelli. “Thanks to Post 182 for sharing their hall so we could collect the toys and enjoy the holiday spirit!”