Norwood Toy Drive Organizations to Donate to This Holiday Season

October 21st, 2022 by

Christmas is only four months away, and the Norwood, Massachusetts, area will serve youth and families in need during this upcoming holiday season. No child should experience Christmas without the joy of receiving a toy. Several organizations have stepped up to ensure area kids have a joyous Christmas holiday with toy and donation drives you can contribute to this season.

Gifts for Kids

Kid opening presents in Norwood, MA.

Image by Mike Cox is licensed with Unsplash License

In 1990, Pat McDougal wanted to ease the financial burden on families in need during the holiday season and founded Gifts for Kids . In its inaugural year, 25 children identified through the Department of Social Services received books, toys, and clothing to make their holiday season brighter. Today, it serves more than 1,200 children annually in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, thanks to the support of generous donors, classroom gift drives, and grants and funding from local organizations.

Gifts for Kids invites individuals and businesses to become Holiday Givers by sponsoring a child or children at various giving levels. It accepts any donation to support families in need by providing toys for children. Additionally, individual donors who work for companies that match charitable contributions can request their employers to match donations, further increasing support.

More information about Gifts for Kids is available on the organization’s website, or you can send them an email at [email protected] .

Globe Santa

Joy is a gift that every child deserves. Each holiday season, Globe Santa delivers the gift of joy to thousands of children and families by bringing books and toys directly to kids throughout the Greater Boston area. The program began in 1956 and collected more than $51,000 in donations to help close to 6,200 families living in the area. Over the past 60 years, the number of children served has grown to more than 3 million.

All donations made to Globe Santa, a Boston Globe Foundation program, go directly to supporting the program’s efforts to distribute toys to children in time for Christmas. In 2020, the most current year for which donation information is available, donors contributed approximately $1.7 million to Globe Santa.

Individuals may make donations by mailing a check or money order to The Boston Globe Foundation c/o Globe Santa, P.O. Box 491, Medford, MA 02155-0005, or by calling 617-929-2007. Globe Santa also provides a convenient online donation feature and corporate matching for eligible companies. Globe Santa also welcomes volunteers who can get involved by helping raise funds at events, activities, and donations throughout the year.

Marine Toys for Tots — Greater Boston

Each year, Marine Toys for Tots — Greater Boston seeks to collect and distribute new, unwrapped toys as Christmas gifts to less-fortunate children in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Northern Plymouth. In 2021, the Marine Toys for Tots effort distributed 79,015 toys to 66,939 children in the Greater Boston area. This toy distribution’s success results from partners, sponsors, and volunteers who help to raise funds and support toy donations in the community.

Businesses that wish to participate in this toy donation effort can sign up to become a toy drop site. All participating companies need to do is set out a toy collection box and encourage customers to donate. Participants must return all toy donations to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center by early December. This’ll allow volunteers enough time to complete toy sorting and distribution before Christmas. Alternatively, individuals and businesses can host their own Toys for Tots event to receive toy donations.

Individual families who want to receive toys for their children may contact a social services agency, church, or nonprofit organization and register with the organization to request toys issued from the Toys for Tots program.

For more information about the Marine Toys for Tots — Greater Boston toy drive, visit the organization’s website. Monetary donations are also accepted. Individuals can donate online or mail donations by check to Marine Toys for Tots — Greater Boston, First Battalion 25th Marines, 53 Quebec St., Fort Devens, MA 01432.

My Brother’s Keeper

For over three decades, My Brother’s Keeper has delivered joy to children and helped ease the stress of parents who can’t afford to provide presents for their children at Christmas. Thanks to the generosity of supporters from My Brother’s Keeper, a Christian education and service ministry, families living in 95 communities from the North Shore down to Fall River and Cape Cod can benefit from a happier holiday.

In addition to presents for children, My Brother’s Keeper distributes $50 supermarket gift cards to help families prepare a special Christmas meal.

Individuals who want to help a local family in need can contact My Brother’s Keeper. Sponsors will receive the first names, ages, and gift suggestions for each family member. Participating sponsors agree to provide at least four new gifts per child and two new gifts per adult.

Donation drop-offs occur at My Brother’s Keeper’s facilities in Easton and Dartmouth. For more information, contact My Brother’s Keeper at 508-238-7512 (Easton) or 774-305-4577 (Dartmouth).

Wonderfund Holiday Gift Drive

The Wonderfund Holiday Gift Drive provides gifts for 53,000 children involved with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) during the holidays. Generous donors help create magical holiday moments for DCF children throughout Massachusetts each year.

Donors can get involved in the Wonderfund Holiday Gift Drive in the following ways:

  1. Sponsor a child by donating money to purchase a holiday gift card.
  2. Buy a gift card to popular retailers, such as Amazon, Old Navy, and Target, and send it to Wonderfund, 600 Washington St., Sixth Floor, Boston, MA 02111.
  3. Purchase several new toys and bring them to designated toy drop-off locations.

For more information, email [email protected] .

Organizations, such as those above and many more, help the Norwood community thrive through their service to others. Our Nucar Toyota of Norwood staff members believe in supporting organizations that make a difference in the lives of the Norwood area’s youngest citizens. Do you know about a toy drive that you think we should highlight? Give us a call or send us an email . We’ll gladly update this article with any information we receive.

Posted in Local, Norwood MA