Local family holds toy drive

Matt Reister and family are collecting toys and stuffed animals for children who are in the hospital on Christmas. They also collect blankets and hats for newborns.

The family does this to honor the memory of Joseph Reister, who passed away shortly before his 3rd birthday.

Joseph was a preemie who spent the first eight months of his life in Kosair Children’s Hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries and medical procedures. Following his arrival at home, he began to thrive and grow.   

Due to problems from his early birth, he required organ transplants. Doctors at Riley Children’s Hospital performed a four organ transplant, and, in the words of his grandmother, Marji Morris, “Joseph blossomed! He was such a happy child despite repeated complications and infections”

Morris added, “The medicine that prevents the body from rejecting the transplants also depresses the immune system, so there were many infections.”

Unfortunately, Joseph got a virulent and fast-growing infection that took his life just a few months shy of his third birthday.

That Christmas, Joseph’s grieving parents wanted to do something to help other children and their parents. So Direct Link to a Smile was created. The program delivers toys to children at Riley (Indianpolis) and Norton’s Children’s Hospital , formerly Kosair, (Louisville) on Christmas day.

The community is invited to help supply incubator blankets, hats, and safe stuffed toys for all the babies in the NICU and a gift for all the other children, ages 0-18. Gifts that kids can use while in the hospital are most welcome. All gifts must be new, non-toxic, and unwrapped.

The family is also collecting tabs from aluminum cans for the Ronald McDonald House, which is such a blessing to families with children in the hospital.

In Washington County, Bill Reister and Marji Morris will accept toys and cash donations for Direct Link to a Smile and will get them to Matt Reister on Dec. 15, for delivery. The hospitals require several days to check all the items before distributing them to the children.

Anyone interested in donating can contact the family at 812-216-6505 to arrange for pick up.