Mercy Flight Central delivers holiday toys to Golisano Children’s Hospital

Rochester, New York — A special delivery from Mercy Flight Central Friday morning arrived at the University of Rochester’s Golisano Children’s Hospital, all with the aim of brightening Christmas for children in need.

This time bags of presents came to GCH, not from Santa’s sleigh but rather from people who help save lives every day.

According to Mercy Flight Pilot Benjamin Sensenbach, “Last year, I took care of a kid that was the same age as my son and it’s very hard, knowing that we can support the children’s hospital and support the patients means a lot to us.”

The nonprofit collected dozens of toys this year that will be handed out to children spending the holidays away from home.

According to Child Life Manager Golisano Children’s Hospital Wendy, “The celebrations they celebrate when they are at home, we want that here. The emotional well being I think is a big part of that and having aspects of different joys added into their lives with the community involved is an incredible thing.”

“I know I took my kids and let them pick out, stuck in a hospital bed- we had a lot of fun doing this,” said Sensenbach.

For more than 25 years, Mercy flight has ferried critically ill patients to area hospitals.