Wantagh native John Theissen’s world was changed forever in 1988, when he met someone he believes to have been an angel.
Theissen, a 1988 graduate of MacArthur High School, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and that same year was hospitalized at Schneider Children’s Hospital — now known as Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center. A 7-year-old girl named Tasha visited him and welcomed him to the floor.
“The staff said. ‘it was only a matter of time before he met Tasha,’” Theissen told the Press. “She’s like the mayor of the floor. It turned out that she had a type of cancer and she had no family support. She’d be dropped off there and left at the hospital for like three weeks and the doctors and nurses were basically her family.”
While Theissen was recovering from his surgery, he heard that there would be a holiday party for the children in the hospital, with their families coming to visit them and Santa Claus coming with gifts.
Unfortunately, Tasha’s family never showed up, but Theissen’s mother offered to take her instead. When Tasha found out that Theissen wouldn’t be able to go as he needed time to recover, she brought him a gift.
“She woke me up with a big teddy bear,” Theissen recalled. “It had been given to her, but she wanted to give it to me to make me feel better. This little girl was so concerned about me and not herself. I often think she was an angel by my side.”
From then on, Theissen was determined to help children like Tasha.
“I was traumatized by that experience of seeing sick children,” he said. “I said to my mom, we have to help out kids like this.”
In 1992, he founded the John Theissen Children’s Foundation. He began with a toy drive that year for local children’s hospitals, and collected more than 800 toys. The foundation has collected and donated millions of toys since then, and according to Theissen, they average about 100,000 to 130,000 a year.
The foundation has expanded beyond toys, though. They also host a Back To School drive which aims to collect backpacks, new clothes, and other necessities for underprivileged children at the start of a new school year. They also accept monetary donations to help children with medical expenses and transportation.
The foundation mostly works on Long Island, but they occasionally do work in New York City. In 2022, they collaborated with Nassau County Police to do a toy drive for children in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas following the tragic shootings in both places.
Their 32nd annual holiday toy drive starts Nov. 13, and runs through Dec. 23. Additionally, they are hosting a holiday gala on Dec. 7 at Mulcahy’s. They also recently closed on a new headquarters building in Wantagh, which will feature a Family Fun Center.
“It’s been around for 32 years and still has that grassroots feel,” Theissen said. “It’s beyond rewarding. It’s a life mission. And if I didn’t do this, that would be a waste of life. This is the only way I know how to live — through this foundation.”
For more stories about charity organizations on Long Island, click here.
