Local Church Seeks Toy Donations for Needy Children
Having just served more than 1,000 individuals in need with all the necessary fixings for Thanksgiving dinner, the Community Food Pantry at St. Mary’s in Mohegan Lake is now turning its attention to providing toys for children for Christmas.
It’s a tradition the pantry has been doing for at least 20 years and its volunteer leaders are appealing to the public to lend a helping hand this year with as many as 500 local children expected to be on the list when toys are distributed on Dec. 17.
“We’re scrambling,” said Julie Maner, a board member who is coordinating the Toy Drive for the pantry. “Our goal is to eventually be put out of business, so we are no longer needed, but that doesn’t seem to be coming any time soon.”
The Community Food Pantry provides supplemental food to more than 175 families each week. St. Mary’s primarily serves the towns of Yorktown, Cortlandt and Putnam Valley and the Lakeland School District, although no pre-registration is required for anyone that needs assistance.
For the Christmas season, however, more than 375 children from infants to 18 years old have already registered to receive gifts and Maner feels that number could exceed last year’s numbers that topped 450.
Without some contributions from Toys for Tots, as the pantry enjoyed for years, St. Mary’s has had to find other ways to meet the increasing demand.
“It is a real eye opener. We’re talking about families who have jobs and can’t make ends meet,” Maner said.
St. Mary’s has been collecting toys every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at a table inside the Jefferson Valley Mall, and several other locations throughout the area, but the turnout has been slow.
Maner said new, unwrapped toys for all ages are desperately needed with less than two weeks remaining until distribution. Legos, makeup kits, puzzles, basketball and soccer balls are all popular, along with gift cards. Sweatshirts for teenagers and socks for all ages are also welcomed, as are wrapping paper, bows and tape.
“We’ll take anything,” Maner stressed. “COVID just crushed us from a cash flow perspective. If we get the word out, folks will respond.”
A drop box will be located at St. Mary’s on Route 6 daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pantry offices are generally open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. For other arrangements or questions, call (914) 528-3972.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
