Los Angeles Underserved Children Receive Visit From Santa at the Orthopaedic Institute for Children’s Annual “Toys & Joy” Celebration

More than 800 children and family watched and shouted in anticipation as Santa Claus helicoptered in with the LAPD SWAT team to deliver holiday cheer and assorted presents at the Orthopaedic Institute for Children’s “Toys & Joy” annual celebration, held yesterday on OIC’s downtown Los Angeles campus. In an event that has become a Los Angeles tradition, over the past 30 years OIC has brought holiday joy to approximately 25,000 underserved families throughout the community.

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CEO Anthony Scaduto, MD and Nicholas Bernthal, MD, join with Santa to provide holiday cheer to more than 800 underserved children as part of Orthopaedic Institute for Children’s annual “Toys & Joy” celebration in Los Angeles (Photo: Business Wire)

“This is the one day each year when Santa trades in his sleigh for a helicopter to bring a special element of delight to underserved children throughout our community,” said Anthony Scaduto, M.D., president and CEO of OIC. “We are so grateful to all of our corporate sponsors and caring individuals who have donated presents or in other ways participated in this wonderful event to help bring smiles to so many faces.”

As part of the event, OIC conducted an on-site vaccination clinic that resulted in 25 children and a dozen adults being vaccinated for the coronavirus. To assure safety for all, masks were required to meet Santa and participate in the festivities.

This year’s “Toys & Joy” event took on added significance given that the event needed to be cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. The continued pandemic coupled with supply chain issues and challenging economic times means that for many of these children, the gifts they received from Santa may be the only presents they receive during the holidays.

Joining in this year’s fun were a number of celebrities and surprise guests, including stars from many Disney television programs, LAPD SWAT team members, representatives from LAPD Transit Services Division and others.

About Orthopaedic Institute for Children

Orthopaedic Institute for Children was founded in 1911 as Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital and today is the largest pediatric orthopaedic facility on the West Coast focused solely on musculoskeletal conditions in children. In alliance with UCLA Health and with the support of the OIC Foundation, we advance pediatric orthopaedics worldwide through outstanding patient care, medical education and research. Our locations in downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Westwood and Calexico treat the full spectrum of pediatric orthopaedic disorders and injuries. For more information, visit us at ortho-institute.org.

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