STROUD TOWNSHIP -- A young boy in the Poconos is throwing a holiday party for children like him who have disabilities. And the party is just the beginning.
Eryk Crespo, age 12, lives near Stroudsburg with his family and attends sixth grade at Stroudsburg Middle School.
Eryk has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1, a muscle condition that restricts his movement. But his disability isn't stopping him from making sure other children living with disabilities have happy holidays.
So he's throwing a Christmas party.
"There's not a lot of things that I can do and there are not a lot of things children with disabilities can do. So this is a day for what we can do," said Eryk.
The party will be held at Great Wolf Lodge near Tannersville on Sunday, December 15 from Noon to 5 p.m.
Currently, 250 children with disabilities are scheduled to attend. But Eryk wants to invite all children with disabilities to the party, because he says the more, the merrier.
"It's a day for us kids with disabilities to be able to do fun stuff and interesting stuff that we can do,” said Eryk.
Some of the fun stuff includes face painting, dancing and eating. Each child will receive a gift from donated toys that Eryk has been collecting.
Gifts for "Eryk Shares the Power of Christmas" will be collected at Chop Shop Kutz in the Stroud Mall outside Stroudsburg.
This is also where money can be collected for another project Eryk is planning. Eryk has his sights set on one day buying a building and turning it into an activity center for children with disabilities.
"My sister and brother, they do cheerleading and wrestling. But children that are disabled, we can't really do a lot. So this area will be for things that we can do," said Eryk.
His mother, Erika, is helping with the paperwork need to create the non-profit organization called Eryk Shares.
"He always cares about everyone else rather than himself," said Erika Crespo.
The party at Great Wolf Lodge is Sunday, December 15 starting at noon.
If you would like to attend, please send an email to Erika at willieyerika@yahoo.com.