Ronkonkoma teen donates $10K worth of toys, wish list items to Ronald McDonald House Long Island

As part of her mitzvah project for her upcoming Bat Mitzvah, a 13-year-old from Ronkonkoma delivered a truckload of donated toys, home essentials and personal care items to the Ronald McDonald House Long Island Family Room, located inside Stony Brook Children’s Hospital on Friday, June 19. 

Hannalee Wilbur, accompanied by her parents, Adam and Cara, delivered specially wrapped cheer baskets that will be gifted to parents with a child staying in the hospital for emergency or ongoing treatment. Hannalee collected the items by creating an Amazon wish list and asking family and friends to donate and spread the word.

It wasn’t long, she says, before the packages started arriving at her door. 

“It’s a good deed, and it makes you feel good about yourself,” said Hannalee. “It’s like a train; it keeps going on and on.”

Hannalee chose Ronald McDonald House Long Island as the beneficiary of her mitzvah project after seeing her older cousins, Jacqueline and Jared, stay at the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park while their daughter, Scottie, underwent life-saving surgery related to her spina bifida diagnosis several years ago.

“Hannalee’s donation will help hundreds of families by providing things that make people feel at home and cared for,” said Cassandra Basile, with Ronald McDonald House. “Our Family Rooms give parents a quiet and comforting space to take a break from the challenges of being at a hospitalized child’s bedside and find the support they need to take care of their families.”