By Katie Vasquez and John Alexander
PROSPECT HEIGHTS — When a 12-year-old girl asked the Make a Difference Christmas organization for oil for Christmas, its founder, Thomas Flood, said he initially thought she was referring to body oil or oil for a diffuser.
As it turned out, the girl meant oil for her home because they had no heat or hot water.
“So on Christmas Eve, we had 60 gallons of heating oil delivered,” Flood said.
That is just one example he shared of how Make a Difference Christmas has helped children and families over the years. The organization was founded by Flood and Ann Turner 29 years ago to collect and distribute Christmas gifts and essential items for children and families in need.
Last year, with the help of donations from Bright Christmas and others, the organization delivered gifts to 1,000 children. In addition, it provided 300 children with hats, gloves, socks, shoes or sneakers, two outfits, two pajamas, and one wish list item — ranging from a Barbie doll to a train set to an iPad.
In the early days, the direction of Make a Difference Christmas was shaped by Turner’s father, Deacon Tom Heaphy, who collected and distributed Christmas gifts from the basement of St. Mary Gate of Heaven Parish in South Ozone Park.
Now approaching its third decade, Make a Difference Christmas fulfills a desire to help children and the less fortunate with toys, clothes, and other necessities during the
Christmas season — something Flood said was inspired by his Catholic faith, family life, and education.
“Everything we were taught [in Catholic schools] about being there for others resonated with me,” Flood said. “But that was not the first time I heard that. There were seven of us in my family, and my parents taught us how to be people for others and it manifested through our Jesuit Catholic education.”
Flood is a graduate of Holy Child Jesus Catholic Academy in Richmond Hill, Regis High School in the Upper East Side, and Boston College. He has spent his professional career with Catholic entities, including 11 years with the Diocese of Brooklyn. He is currently the vice president of institutional advancement at St. Thomas Aquinas College.
The story of the young girl asking for oil was just one instance Flood shared of the impact Make a Difference Christmas makes. He also told of the organization securing baseballs signed by the New York Mets’ Peter Alonso for two young boys whose mother is ill and delivering presents to the home of a five-year-old girl whose mother is terminally ill with cancer, and unable to shop for Christmas.
He also highlighted the time a grandfather approached the organization on behalf of his granddaughter, whose dream was to attend Xaverian High School.
“We rallied eight or nine friends, and with Make a Difference as the conduit, we have been paying a portion of her tuition,” Flood said. “And while we are giving something to someone to change their lives, the truth is they are changing our lives.”
Flood said his work with Make a Difference Christmas is fulfilling and meaningful.
“My friend Ann and I find it an honor to be the facilitator of other people’s charity. This legacy has been entrusted to us to carry on, and now we are starting to get our children involved,” Flood said. “Whether it’s wrapping gifts, giving gifts, delivering gifts — it’s a very, very rewarding experience.”
How to Help
If you’d like to donate, visit thetablet.org/brightchristmas.
Or, write a check made out to “The Tablet’s Bright Christmas” and mail it to:
The Tablet Bright
Christmas Fund
856 Pacific Street
Brooklyn, NY 11238