Mariano Rivera and Santa Claus made a special appearance in Inwood on Monday, Dec. 18 where they distributed toys and treats to children courtesy of SOMOS — a physician-led healthcare network that caters to underprivileged communities.
Photo by ET Rodriguez
Santa Claus was ho-ho-hoing outside of Academy Medical PC in Inwood on Monday, Dec. 18, as he and retired Yankee closer Mariano Rivera handed out gifts and treats to young children of the neighborhood.
“I would like maybe slime or a Barbie,” said 8-year-old Gianni who lives in the neighborhood and was brought to the toy drive by her grandmother Maria Salvatierra. Gianni walked away happily with a troll doll and added that her favorite part of the holidays is “spending it with my family.”
There were 1,500 toys distributed in gift bags along with other goodies and toys ranged from dolls to board games to basketballs. But it wasn’t just children in attendance on the windy Monday afternoon.
“I heard it on 1010 WINS,” said Elliot Rullon who stood in line with his friend William Rojas, both with baseballs in hand and eager to get an autograph from the Rivera, the renowed Hall-of-Famer who helped the Yankees win five world championships in his career. Rivera signed autographs and took pictures asked of him with a warm smile.
Salvatierra, who admitted to Mariano Rivera being her favorite Yankee, learned about the giveaway as a patient of Academy Medical PC — one of the dozens of locations affiliated with SOMOS, a community care group founded in 2015 by Dr. Ramon Tallaj, M.D. The physician-led network has 2,500 healthcare providers and serves more than 1 million Medicaid and Medicare recipients — especially in New York City’s underserved, Spanish-speaking communities.
“The reality is that if you don’t do this, sometimes these kids won’t get anything [for the holidays],” said Dr. Tallaj, who was also in attendance distributing gifts.
Dr. Tallaj has more than 20 years of experience…
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