The third annual Christian J. Santo Winter Wonderland was a tremendous success! People from the community and beyond were invited to experience the magic of the North Pole without ever leaving Brooklyn. Our festive holiday celebration immersed members of the community in a feast for the senses. The street was lined with vendors for family friendly activities, shopping, food trucks, crafts, face painting, a dancing Frosty the Snowman, live entertainment and music – it was magical. The magic continued with the Santo house lighting – a spectacular display of holiday lights, highlighted by a very special piano performance. Matt, who is on the spectrum, showcased his amazing talents on the piano, accompanied by the beautiful singing voice of Jordan. Matt’s dream is to become a professional musician and his hard work and dedication to his music is an inspiration to anyone trying to achieve their goals. Jordan who has three recently released singles was honored to sing alongside Matt, and both were thrilled to be a part of this amazing event.

The fun continued with a high energy performance from Staten Island’s own award-winning Dance Factory. Children dressed as reindeer, elves and Santas delighted young and old with expertly choreographed and beautifully executed dance moves to the music of Feliz Navidad.

And of course what holiday celebration would be complete without a visit from the jolly old soul and his wife, Santa Claus and Mrs.Claus. Mr. and Mrs. Claus arrived, to everyone’s delight, in a magical horse drawn carriage straight from the North Pole. The fun continued with pictures taken with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, carriage rides, train rides and let’s not forget dessert – hot chocolate, cookies, donuts, zeppoles, candy canes and more.

Aaliyah Rivera was the guest of honor at our Winter Wonderland celebration. The Santo family on behalf of the foundation presented Aaliyah with a brand new electric wheelchair to replace one that was stolen from her home in Ossining. It was a heartwarming moment of kindness, love and gratitude. Several other previous recipients, were there as well to enjoy the festivities .

This magical event was the perfect kickoff to our holiday season to bring our community together in the spirit of giving . A strong community is vital to the success of any organization, and it is our hope that this event has strengthened our community and created a sense of belonging for all. The true magic, however, was how our sponsors and our community came together with the foundation to create such an inclusive and fun event.

Our winter wonderland could not have happened without the generosity of our sponsors and the hard work and dedication from our foundation and its supporters.

Over 200 supporters gathered, in costume, at Dyker Beach Golf Course for this year’s Halloween gala! Guests were given a special update on the Foundation’s progress to date, including our newest recipient, a deserving young baseball player who will be attending St. Thomas Aquinas on the Christian J. Santo scholarship.

On June 1, 2023 we held our second annual golf outing. 108 golfers were present for a beautiful day on the course and even more appeared for the Peter Luger style dinner at the Richmond County Country Club. A great day was had by all. We can’t wait to do it again next year!

A huge thank you to the Max Challenge of Bay Ridge, who donated all of their proceeds from their annual Max Challenge Day of Giving to further our mission. We couldn’t be more thankful for this community and their support.

This year we served as a float sponsor for the Guild for Exceptional Children in the 3rd Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade. We are proud to stand alongside an organization that provides supportive services to those living with developmental disabilities.

Our Winter Wonderland event featured festive treats (hot cocoa, s’mores, hot pretzels, fried Oreos, zeppoles etc.), photo ops with Mr. & Mrs. Claus, horse and buggy rides and more!  As a thank you to the community for their support during a successful second year, all holiday themed activities were offered for free. We can’t wait to meet even more local families next year!

We had a blast at this year’s annual Halloween Gala where guests enjoyed live entertainment and the chance to win specular raffle prizes! All proceeds collected were used towards our mission of providing support and assistance in the fields of education, health & sports, to children and families that may be distressed.

Watch the video to explore the memories the Christian J. Santo Legacy Foundation made in 2022.

The Max Day of Giving was a day of family fun filled with music, food and activities for all ages! Through our donor’s generous support over $29,000 was raised. These funds will enable us to provide tuition assistance to a young child who was recently displaced from the Ukraine due to war. This event would not have been possible without the generosity from our partners – the Max Challenge of Bay Ridge, Aunt Butchies, DJ John and Sarrica Physical Therapy!

Thank you to all those who helped make our Drag Queen Bingo a huge success! We were pleased to present two recipients, Frankie and Drew, with full financial support for the special tools needed to succeed in college. We believe that every student, despite a disability, should receive equal access to an education.

Our Winter Wonderland event featured festive treats (hot cocoa, s’mores, hot pretzels, fried Oreos, zeppoles etc.), photo opps with Mr. & Mrs. Claus, horse and buggy rides and more!  As a thank you to the community for their support during a successful first year, all holiday themed activities were offered for free. We can’t wait to meet even more local families next year!

We celebrated Christian’s favorite holiday with over 200+ guests by dancing the night away at Gargiulo’s restaurant! We were also joined by the Foundation’s first family of recipients, who received a life-changing contribution. All proceeds collected were used towards our mission of providing support and assistance in the fields of education, health, & sports to children & families that may be distressed.

Maimonides Park and the Brooklyn Cyclones graciously hosted our first night out at the ballpark! More than two sold out sections of family and friends joined us in dedicating Seat No 9 of section 11, in memory of Christian.

The Max Challenge of Bay Ridge decided to host their annual fundraiser in honor of Christian.  Christian’s passion for fitness included being part of this program which not only helps one physically but also mentally.