Friday December 7, 2007

Sinisa Vasquez took the whole day off from work to donate his time and some toys to the 19th annual Toy Lift.

He says it's the least he can do after the people of Charlottesville made he and his family feel so welcome at a difficult time.

"Both my kids were born in a war," Vasquez recalls. "There was no electricity. There was no water. There was three feet of snow and you have two little babies at home. It was rough."

Such was life in the late 90s in war-torn Yugoslavia.

That's why Sinisa Vasquez decided to uproot his family and start over in the United States. But for a man who had run multiple companies back home, a new start wasn't easy.

"We did experience the generosity of the Charlottesville community first-hand," Vasquez says. "We could see how people can go above and beyond to help families in need."

So that's exactly what Sinisa and his family did Friday at the Toy Lift.

He says they can't forget where they came from, but there's no question where their home is.

"We always felt that this is home, and it is home."

Not only is the Vasquez family doing its part with the Toy Lift, they're also helping other families who have come to America to escape life in the former Yugoslavia. Sinisa says from all his experiences he's learned an important lesson that he passes along to each of those families.

"You don't need money. I mean, money is secondary in everything. When you lose everything that you have and you lose that a couple of times in your life, you start appreciating different things," Vasquez says.