Donations for needy stolen, Toys of Hope charity in Huntington Station says

Toys of Hope, a Huntington Station charity, is pleading for the public's help to make up for the "devastating" loss it suffered after thieves stole hundreds of holiday toys and gifts and destroyed thousands more through vandalism and exposure to weather on Saturday, according to its founder.

The estimated loss to the charity is $20,000 to $30,000, founder Missy Doktofsky told Newsday.

"Something like this happens that's going to basically ruin hundreds of children and families' holiday," she said. "We want a call to action of people to just get on [the website and] donate."

The 32-year-old charity started by Doktofsky collects wish lists from homeless and needy children and then buys the present for them to open during the holiday, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah or any other seasonal celebration. She said 65,000 children, their parents and their are helped each year by Toys of Hope.

"We want disadvantaged children to feel that they are just as deserving of the beautiful toys that their classmates have in school," she said.  

As it had every year, the group left bags of presorted toys under weather tarps outside the group's headquarters at 167 E. Second St., according to a Facebook video posted by Doktofsky.

"For somebody to come and start rummaging and taking things that were donated and are allocated for needy people ..." volunteer George Espada said in the video. "They just decided to create a headache for us."

Doktofsky said the theft must have happened late Friday night into Saturday morning.

Suffolk County police received a call at 7:50 p.m. Saturday about the missing toys, a spokesperson said. The department is investigating the incident.

Doktofsky said 450 toys — sports balls, dolls, electronics, collectible Pokemon cards and more — were taken and thousands more were waterlogged by the weekend rain.

"They just left it out, strewn about everywhere, boxes stomped on," she said. "It's heartbreaking. What they didn't take, they broke. It's filthy. It's unsanitary now, it's wet. It's really upsetting."

The group serves Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as the five boroughs and parts of North Jersey, Doktofsky said. On Monday, the group has a delivery scheduled to the South Bronx.

The group is asking people to volunteer or donate on their website: toysofhope.org.