Cape Elizabeth volunteer Barbi Diaz (right) and Press Herald Toy Fund Operations Manager Jeff Hamm sort toys for the 2024 Toy Fund at the Press Herald Building in South Portland on Wednesday. . Michelle McDonald/Photo Editor
SOUTHERN PORTLAND — For weeks, volunteers in the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund workshop have been unpacking pallets of toys and books and bagging gifts for families across southern Maine and the Midcoast. I was busy packing.
This is a labor of love for organizers, volunteers, and donors who donate their time and money to ensure children have a joyful holiday experience each year. For 75 years, the charity has used money donated by readers to buy gifts for children of all faiths and backgrounds during the holiday season.
“As we celebrate this milestone, we would like to thank Matthew Barron for his compassion and determination to make Christmas dreams a reality for the first 911 children to benefit from this foundation in 1949.” Toys Foundation said Karen Beaudoin, president of. board.
“Seventy-five years after he approached the (Portland) Evening Express with his idea to buy toys for children in welfare families, the Toy Fund has joined forces with thousands of generous donors. Thanks to hundreds of dedicated volunteers, we have served tens of thousands of children.”
Mr. Barron, who was assistant director of welfare for the city of Portland in 1949, saw how families were struggling in difficult economic times and knew that many children were unlikely to receive Christmas presents. Ta. He asked his friend Robert Bruce Bies for help. He was editor of the Portland Evening Express at the time and author of a local news column. And they came up with a simple plan.
Writing under the pseudonym Bruce Roberts, Bies asked readers to donate, which Barron used to buy toys for needy children. Our readers far exceeded our $1,000 fundraising goal by donating a total of $3,903.55 and $500 worth of new toys. Gifts purchased by the foundation that year included 500 dolls, 60 sleds, 100 soccer balls, 1,500 books and 2,500 mechanical toys. Toys were distributed to 1,500 children.
“Those who would otherwise have faced a Christmas without Santa received a boost not only in Portland, but also in South Portland, Westbrook, Casco, Scarborough, South Windham, Gorham, Owls Head and Wiscasset,” it said at the time. The Evening Express reported. .
Eventually, the name Bruce Roberts became synonymous with the annual toy fund. When the Evening Express ceased publication in 1990, its sister paper, the Portland Press Herald, carried on the tradition.
Over the past 75 years, The Toy Fund has provided millions of dollars worth of toys to more than 100,000 children. Last year, gifts were distributed to 2,619 children, and donors donated nearly $200,000 to continue the tradition.
The Toys Fund’s long history “shows that the need never goes away,” said Jeff Hamm, the charity’s operations manager.
“This fund has a lot of community support that continues year after year,” he said. “We see that in our donors who are giving as part of the holiday season.”
Thanks to these donors, the foundation is in a position to grow and serve more underprivileged children, Beaudoin said. “I think Matthew Barron would be happy to see his dream come true,” she said.
Volunteers work to spread the word in the community to connect with more families in need. And Toy Fund organizers and the Board of Directors have focused on building new relationships with social service agencies, schools, and other organizations that play a critical role in helping families connect with Toy Fund. Ta.
“They help us spread the word about what we do for new Mainers who may not know where to turn for help to make the holiday season more memorable for children.” It was particularly helpful,” Baudouin said.
Applications for assistance are currently being accepted for families in York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Androscoggin counties. The deadline to apply is Dec. 1, and families will be notified when to pick up their toys at the Press Herald’s South Portland office.
To donate online, visit pressherald.com/toy-fund.
For volunteers like John Voyer, pick-up and drop-off days and interacting with families are the highlights of the holiday season.
“When people come and pick up their toy bags, it’s obvious they’re very grateful,” Voyer said.
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