Students from Pittston Area’s Martin L. Mattei Middle School pose in front of the building’s Christmas tree along with new toys donated to the Greater Pittston Santa Squad for the 2022 Christmas holiday. Kneeling, left to right: Lexi Noone, Zofia Amditis, Mickey Sperazza, Josh Chaump, Parker McAndrews, Tyler Chaump. Second row standing: Hailey Luckasavage, Gabriella Zambricki, Victoria Wesolowski-Halapin, Sami Stegman, Gianna Mills. Back row: Gary Worosilla (Santa Squad), Denise Manganiello (Santa Squad), Sarah Donahue, faculty, Patrick Bilbow, building principal.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Pittston Area middle school student aid Gary Worosilla, far right, and Denise Manganiello, out of frame, of the Greater Pittston Santa Squad as they load nearly 200 toys for the Santa Squad toy drive of 2022.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Gary Worosilla, a Greater Pittston Santa Squad board member, checks fulfilled Angel bags ready for pick up on Dec. 10 from the former Seton Catholic gym.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
The former Seton Catholic gymnasium’s floor is full of toys, bicycles, dolls, board games and clothing, ready to be bagged and picked up for children for Christmas.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PITTSTON – As the calendar rushed passed November and slid into December, the Greater Pittston Santa Squad (GPSS) is deep into their 2022 campaign as toy collections accumulate at their temporary warehouse facility situated at the former Seton Catholic gym.
Toys have been arriving, sometimes by the truckload from donors, to the gym over the past few weeks as well as toys collected at drop-off locations all over Greater Pittston.
Each toy that arrives is gathered, logged in, and then processed for a designated child throughout the area. So far, that number has equaled last year’s number 1,200 children.
The goal of GPSS since its inception by founder Anthony Marranca is to give every child that signs up for the program to get what they requested from Santa Claus or a parent.
GPSS doesn’t stop with one present per child, often times it’s four and five gifts.
The GPSS has handed out everything from dolls and game boards to bicycles over the last five-years totaling somewhere in excess of 20,000 items.
This past week, Sarah Donahue, a faculty member at Pittston Area’s Martin L. Mattei Middle School, spearheaded a GPSS drive by taking on 60 Angels. An angel is a name designated for a child that is eligible to receive GPSS toys.
The Santa Squad picked up the toys collected by Donahue from students, faculty, family and friends from Mattei donated to the GPSS 2022 Campaign.
“In the middle school, we’ve been volunteering to donate toys to the Salvation Army for years before they left West Pittston and the Santa Squad took over the Christmas lists and they are actual lists from children,” Donahue said. “We really like this program because we know these children are waking up to exactly what they asked Santa Claus for. People do a really great job and I get a lot of volunteers (for the Angel program) and people are really excited to help.”
Donahue went on to say the middle school began to collect toys in the beginning of November to complete the 60-angel list.
Marranca said the GPSS is late in the campaign and it’s too late to fulfill anymore toy requests for this year.
“Let me just say, and I’ve been saying it all along, this isn’t an effort by me, we have a board of directors and about two-dozen volunteers that really are the backbone of the organization,” Marranca said. “What an honor it has been to do this and what can I say, thank you, thank you, thank you, to all that have trusted us in making sure families in need will have gifts for their children.”
“When we hand over an Angel list to a donor, we trust they will do all possible to fulfill that list,” Marranca added. “It’s trust all around and the GPSS a trusted organization. It’s humbling to know this whole thing started from an idea I had to help out the former West Pittston Salvation Army. It’s just crazy and I’m so grateful to the people from Greater Pittston and beyond that have helped.”
