Category Archives: New York City Children’s Holiday Party

NYCCHP HOLIDAY CELEBRATION!

2024 Holiday Party, homeless children, homeless shelters, Wicked

Be Part of the Magic – Share the Joy!

Our Mission — The New York City Children’s Holiday Party, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to sharing the joys of the holidays with children living in New York City’s homeless shelters. We strive to introduce the children to new experiences, exposing them to performance and visual arts, in order to broaden their horizons, and hoping to spark their imaginations for a better future.

New York City is a melting pot and we proud New Yorkers come from not only different parts of the United States but also from all over the world. The holiday season and its celebration in New York brings us all together as one happy family. Although each of us strives to support and help the communities we come from, as New York citizens we cannot ignore those who are the most vulnerable amongst us. These are the homeless children of New York City, the children in our very own backyard. How can we ignore them as they need us the most.

Currently there 63,000 homeless people living in about 150 shelters in New York City, of which 20,500 are children.

We are 100% volunteer run, and all contributions directly benefit the children. We light up celebrations for these children and they in turn light up ours with their gleeful smiles and laughter.

Please support us by clicking below:

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(via Greater Giving’s secure server)

100% of your donation directly benefits the children.

For great insight into the lives of the children in the city’s homeless shelters, please see Andrea Elliot’s clear-eyed yet heart-wrenching December 2015 5-part series in The New York Times, Invisible Child:
Dasani’s Homeless Life (December 2013), accompanied by Ruth Fremson’s remarkable photographs. Being able to give children like Dasani one night of pure fun reminds all of us what the holidays are truly about.

Please join us in creating wondrous moments for these beautiful children of New York City.

Past Celebrations

Our Past Celebrations

We are grateful to all those who participated and generously contributed toward our efforts. Your generosity allowed us to continue to reach out to the most vulnerable, the children living in New York City shelters.

In the previous 21 years, we are proud to have brought smiles to the faces of more than 15,000 homeless children by treating them to Broadway shows during the holiday season. At times we have taken over entire theaters, with over 1,000 children from shelters watching the performance. These magical evenings buoy the spirit of the children and make them feel special and wanted throughout the year, despite their circumstances.

Back to the Future

In keeping with our Broadway tradition, in 2024 we treated hundreds of children living in NYC homeless shelters to Back to the Future: The Musical at the Winter Garden Theatre. In December 2023, we took 300 children to see MJ the Musical on Broadway. As per usual, we treated the children to a celebratory dinner, gave them educational supplies, and in the spirit of the holidays Santa greeted each child and handed out gifts.

In 2022, we took 150 children to see Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway. In summer 2019, we treated children froom two shelters to a day in the sun: first, they explored the Long Island Aquarium in Long Island and then Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. In December that year, NYCCHP took 500 children to the IMAX Theater at AMC Lincoln Square to see Frozen 2! In 2018 we took 900 children to see the Broadway musical King Kong gave each one dinner and gifts from Santa.

In 2017 we treated 700 children to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. In addition to a backpack & educational supplies, every child was given a jumbo chocolate bar by Santa — and, of course, a Golden Ticket!

**Aladdin**‘s Tony-winning genie James Monroe Iglehard with Surya Garg, Manager of Youth Volunteers

We launched our first event in 2003 at Trinity School with an afternoon of fun and games that included a performance by the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Since then, each year we have taken hundreds of children to venues such as the Big Top of the Big Apple Circus and under the lights of Broadway at Lion King, Mary Poppins, Bring It On, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Wicked and Aladdin.

Protected: 2023 NYCCHP!

2023 Holiday Party, homeless children, homeless shelters, Wicked

About Us

Antonio Rodriguez, Department of Homeless Services, Madhu Garg

About Us

NYCCHP began during Christmas of 2002, when little Arjun and Surya Garg, then 6 and 3, wanted to go around distributing bright and neatly packaged toys to children. Their mother, Dr. Madhu Powar Garg, tried to volunteer with her family at a party for homeless children and realized that not enough was being done in New York City to share the spirit of the holidays with homeless children. She then approached Antonio Rodriguez, the Director of Special Events at the Department of Homeless Services of New York City who agreed that an annual holiday event just for homeless children was needed.

By the spring of 2003, over 30 volunteers had joined Dr. Garg in her mission to treat homeless children to the most festive party possible, filled with live performances, food, gifts, and, of course, Santa. With our plan in place, we held our first event that December with 300 children from 15 shelters.

Our organization has remained a grassroots effort, fueled by the ideas and hard work of our many, many volunteers, both in the months leading up to the party and on that day. Our committee includes doctors, bankers, lawyers, accountants, artists, writers and designers, who all donate their time and resources. Each year, over 100 volunteers, who range from high school students to professionals to parents and grandparents, turn out at the party to ensure it runs smoothly. And, each year it is successful all because of the good cheer, giving spirit and full cooperation with which each person participates.

In the coming years, we would like to do much more. We hope to expand our activities so that we include all the homeless children in New York city in the age range of 6 to 14 so that no child is left out of celebrating the holidays.

Homeless in New York

CIRCUS250 Over the last 20 years, we have seen the number of homeless in New York constantly changing. Although valiant efforts are made to reduce this number and afford people housing, catastrophic events such as the Pandemic, Hurricanes Irene and Sandy and the fluctuating job market affect this number tremendously. As of November 2022, over 20,500 children sleep in shelters nightly. The number had fallen to 16,000 during the pandemic, when people were forced to be under a roof during the lockdowns, but sadly has rapidly increased since then.

Because of the hype in the media, ads on television, and the festive atmosphere everywhere, the holidays can be a painful reminder to children without homes of just how dramatically different their lives are from other kids. Our organization’s goal is to ensure the holidays are a happy time for these children by treating them to a festive experience, a party unlike any they’ve ever experienced before.

The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) of New York City is our partner in planning the New York City Children’s Holiday Party. DHS delivers temporary shelter and social services to families in more than 150 shelter facilities throughout the city.