Emma Vulpi and her big heart

Salisbury resident Emma Vulpi has once again shown that her heart is huge. For years, the 12-year-old girl has been using gift cards that she receives leading up to her Dec. 16 birthday to purchase toys and gifts for children in local hospitals.

Her good deeds began when she was 7.

During a car ride with her mother, Michele, in 2019, Emma decided what she wanted to do with the rest of the gift cards she received for her birthday.

“She said, ‘Ma, I know what I want to do with my gift cards,’ like out of nowhere,” Michele said. “It was just weird because it was already January, and she hadn’t used any of them. She asked if we could use the gift cards to buy toys for sick kids in the hospital.”

“She started crying,” Emma said of her mother’s reaction.

Emma’s choice to spread goodwill back in 2019 has only grown. The pre-teen hasn’t looked back, donating thousands of toys to children who need them most.

She first brought her donations to NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, where her aunt worked. The donations were distributed to kids in the hospital’s Child Life Program, which provides care for pediatric patients, as well as space for playtime and crafts.

Last year, however, she decided to bring the toys to John Theissen Children’s Foundation in Wantagh, and this year, the organization was once again the recipient of Emma’s generosity.

Theissen began collecting and distributing toys in 1992 to cheer up children in local hospitals. Four years prior to the start of his charitable efforts, Theissen, then 17, spent the holidays being treated for a brain tumor at Schneider Children’s Hospital in New Hyde Park.

While in the hospital, Theissen met Tasha, 7, a cancer patient who had no family that would visit her. When Christmas arrived and all of the children had the opportunity to visit with Santa and receive a present, Tasha had no family members to go with her.

Theissen’s mother, Roberta, offered to take her, but the girl was upset that John was unable to go with her, because he had just undergone major brain surgery. When Tasha met Santa later that day and was offered a stuffed teddy bear, she told Santa that she wanted to give the bear to her friend, John, to make him feel better.

Since Theissen’s first drive, the nonprofit has collected more than a million toys, donating them to sick and underprivileged children in over 180 hospitals and childcare facilities. The children’s foundation works year-round to help children in need in any capacity.

Emma receives gift cards and donations all year long now, helping her to purchase the toys. This year, she was able to donate $6,000 worth of toys to the children’s foundation.

“You’re incredible and amazing,” Theissen told Emma on Dec. 15, when she dropped the toys off at the nonprofit’s headquarters in Wantagh. “I’m honored that you help us out. You have your whole life ahead of you to do so much more.”

Emma’s good deed wasn’t without a setback this year, however. Her dad, Patrick, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, on Aug. 7. The disease is a terminal neurodegenerative condition that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. Michele said that in the four months since the diagnosis, his condition has rapidly deteriorated. He needs full-time care and use of a wheelchair. He also uses a BiPAP machine, a non-invasive ventilation therapy used to facilitate breathing, for a few hours during the day.

The East Meadow and Salisbury communities have stepped up to do their part in helping the Vulpi family during this challenging time — and Emma was still committed to making sure she could donate toys.

“Emma was like, ‘Mom, we’re still going to do this, right?’” Michele said. “I said, ‘Yes — we’ll still do it. Don’t worry, we got it.’ There’s a lot of kids on Long Island that still need our help.”

Emma told the Herald that the values of the children’s foundation align with her own, which is why it was an easy choice for Theissen to receive the toys. When asked her feelings about giving back to others year after year, she simply said, “I love it.”