On Tuesday, Dec. 13, Loaves & Fishes, with the help of the Devens Recreation Department and MassDevelopment, held its 11th annual Shop for Your Kids Day. Held at the Devens Community Center, the event celebrated the holidays by hosting over 210 client families who came to shop for toys, books, games, crafts, and more for their children who range in age from newborns to teens. In all, about 500 children received gifts as part of this program. More than 50 volunteers and coordinators help set up shopping areas for parents to choose that hoped-for toy, the perfect book, or that craft that will keep little hands busy for hours. Thanks to generous individual and corporate donations, every teenager was able to receive a $25 gift card to select the perfect gift for himself or herself. This program helps parents and caregivers provide gifts for the holidays, especially important when times are tight and there is often no money for “extras.”
Shop for Your Kids is generously supported by the community. Local newspapers helped us publicize the event, raise cash and gather toys, and reach out to those in need who were unaware of the services Loaves & Fishes provides. The police departments from all of the towns we serve (Ayer, Groton, Harvard, Shirley, and Littleton) held toy drives and collected toys and gift cards for us. Sergeant John MacDonald at the Ayer Police Department managed to gather about 2,200 toys!
Toy drives were also held by many civic organizations, houses of worship, local businesses, school groups/honor societies, scout troops, and parent organizations, including (but definitely not limited to!) AM Transportation Services, Epic Enterprises, JM Coull, Vitasoy USA, Middlesex Savings Bank, Horn Packaging, Luth’s Family Karate, MagneMotion, 360 Gymnastics, Renaissance Electronics, the Groton Garden Club, and others. Food (to keep our volunteers fueled on the 12-hour-plus day of the event) was donated by Hannaford Supermarkets, beverages by Epic Enterprises, and coffee and snacks by Dunkin’ Donuts (the Catalano Company). Neptali and Regina Rondina and Janet O’Connell provided entertainment while our clients waited to shop.
We are very grateful to everyone who donated or volunteered for this event. The effort made by all involved helped keep the magic in the season, and it is easy to imagine the smiles and laughter when all those new gifts were opened.
Judy and Ray Grande, Co-chairs
Loaves & Fishes Shop for Your Kids Day
