Joe Gallart has been collecting toy donations for nearly a decade, and what started as small operation has blossomed into a much larger project, that gives thousands of toys to Toys for Tots during the holiday season.
Back in 2016, Gallart attended a car rally in Glen Cove, where a toy collection was taking place. He rounded up 21 toys, he told the Herald, from close friends and family — but when he saw the size of what was being collected at the rally, he knew he could do more. The following year, he donated 150 toys — and from there, his efforts have grown year after year.
In 2022, Gallart collected and donated 5,000 toys, and that was the year he decided to include someone very special in his efforts — his daughter, Desirae Gallart, who died in 2010 at 24-years-old. Desirae grew up in Queens, but Gallart said she always loved visiting him in Merrick, where he lives with his wife, Gina Bennicasa. In particular, she loved walking the trails of the Norman J. Levy Park & Preserve.
He formed the charitable organization, Desirae’s Darlings, in 2023. Most of the toys are curated on shelves in Gallart’s garage, he explained, where he has large posters with photos of Desirae. “She’s always there,” he said of his daughter.
Even though it’s only October, Gallart’s efforts to collect toys begin much earlier — and involve the efforts of so many communities around Merrick. Over the summer, he makes pizza out of a brick oven, and invites people to order a pie and drop off donations, and last week, he hosted a charity comedy night at the Brokerage in Bellmore, serving as a fundraising opportunity for Desirae’s Darlings.
There’s also 13 public locations, including local businesses and storefronts in Merrick, Bellmore, East Meadow, Wantagh and Massapequa, that have bins set up for Gallart’s collection. And this year, a company called Toy Insider, based in New York City, agreed to donate 850 toys. Fun Stuff Toys, a small business on Merrick Road in Seaford, has also been a loyal supporter of Gallart’s, and he said he’s once again looking forward to partnering with them this season.
Now that it’s been a full year since he’s operated under the name Desirae’s Darlings, Gallart said his mission hasn’t changed.
“The business model and the workflow hasn’t really changed,” he said. “The marketing has changed, because now I’m actually doing it in my daughter’s memory. So I think that helps, especially people that knew her, or for the people that didn’t know her. It makes it a little more personal, and it hits closer to home for a lot of people.”
Last year, Gallart collected over 6,600 toys — but as he puts it, there’s always room for one more. Gallart will be taking part in Long Island’s largest Toys for Tots drop-off on Sunday, Dec. 1 at the Nassau County Police Department’s Center David S. Mack Center for Training & Intelligence in Garden City. The week beforehand, he’ll be driving around and picking up the donations from the public facing bins — meaning there’s still plenty of time to donate.
Gallart will host his 3rd annual pizza and toy swap event at his home on Oct. 27, from 1 to 4 p.m. — another opportunity for people to get involved and donate. Those interested in donating are asked to R.S.V.P. to DesiraesDarlings@Gmail.com.
For information about upcoming events, to learn how to donate, and to order toys through Gallart’s Amazon registry, visit DesiraesDarlings.org.