Families of the Newburgh Armory Unity Center celebrated the holiday season with a special Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots distribution event and welcomed performing artist Cardi B on Tuesday, December 19. Armory families and guests were able to take photos with Cardi B and children were able to take toys home with them for the holidays.

Families began to arrive around 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, checked in and patiently waited for the event to start and her arrival. As Cardi B arrived and made her way into the building, families and fans were ready and were guided into the Larkin Center to meet her and collect their toys. William Kaplan also made a guest appearance and spent time with the children and Cardi B.

For the first in his career, Sergeant Samuel Louis led the efforts for the Toys for Tots campaign and overall event Tuesday night. For Louis, he has worked over the course of three months with his team to prepare for the distribution event, and even just keeping the secret of her arrival was hard.

“I think it went well, seeing the amount of parents that actually showed up with their kids. It was a great turnout because a lot of these kids didn’t mind, especially the parents who didn’t mind sitting out there waiting in line, to be able to get a chance, even if it only lasted a few seconds to be able to get a chance to see Cardi B in person, to be able to see that smile, it put a smile on the kid’s face and Cardi B’s so I’m very grateful that it happened and I’m happy that I was able to be a part of it,” said Louis. “It genuinely brings me joy to be able to see the kids, be able to see the smiles on the kids faces when they get these toys. Me and my team, we take pride in the kinds of toys that we give out.”

Newburgh Armory Director of Operations Max Cuacuas, along with his staff, the City of Newburgh Police Department and the additional Marines and service personnel present helped make the event run smoothly and safely for the under 100 families from the Newburgh Armory’s programming in attendance.

The event was a first come, first serve basis offered to the families and was not made public because there was no guarantee on the amount of time Cardi B would be able to stay, and Cuacuas and Louis wanted to ensure a safe environment throughout the evening for everyone.

“It was a great event that was a collaboration between Toys for Tots, the Newburgh Armory, and of course, Cardi’s team,” said Cuacuas. “We were so excited to have her and of course, the community as a whole was excited to have her. We couldn’t really believe it was going to happen when it was going to happen. I think a lot of those parents were as equally if not more excited than some of their kids.”

The connection between Cardi B and the Newburgh Armory came from Armory basketball coach Ashley Staples, who is also a personal friend of Cardi B and invited her to come to the Armory and celebrate with the families of Newburgh. Cuacuas noted that Cardi B stayed until every person got a photograph with her and she was not paid to attend but rather did it out of the kindness of her heart.

The Toys for Tots program has been active at the Newburgh Armory for many years and is led and managed by the United States Marine Corps Reserve. The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, a recognized 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit, was established in 1991 and has maintained the mission of collecting new unwrapped toys and to distribute them to families in need at Christmas time.

“I’m really blessed to be in a position like this, to be able to give back to the community. My team and I were able to do something that is very impactful. I’m thankful, and I’m honored,” said Louis.“I just want to wish everybody a happy holiday, thank the Marines for the great job they’ve done and the community for being a part of it,” said Cuacuas.