The Toy for Joy campaign partners with Hasbro and is sponsored by The Republican and the Salvation Army to provide needy families with toys and gifts.
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SPRINGFIELD — The 90th annual Toy for Joy campaign, sponsored by The Republican and the Salvation Army, kicks off today with the help of campaign partner Hasbro.
The program, which aims to provide toys and gifts to needy families in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties, has a fund-raising goal of $150,000 by Christmas Eve. Last year, fund-raising topped $167,000.
"We kick off our 90th year of Toy for Joy against a backdrop of high unemployment, especially among our most vulnerable residents. In this climate of need our local citizens have consistently come through year-after-year to add joy to the holidays for area children," said Wayne E. Phaneuf, executive editor of The Republican.
Toy maker Hasbro jumped on board as a campaign partner last year, ending its own program, the Giving Tree, which also aimed to provide gifts to needy families.
“We have a long history in this area distributing toys and games in the holiday season. We look forward to doing more this year to make the campaign even more successful than last year,” said George Burtch, vice president of global integration at Hasbro.
“We will work hard to put a gift under the tree for every child this season,” said Burtch.
The Greater Springfield Citadel of the Salvation Army has new commanders this year, John and Ronda Ferreira, who are excited to co-sponsor the Toy for Joy campaign.
“We are thrilled for the partnership. We think it’s great that the Salvation Army and The Republican and Hasbro have come together like this,” said Ronda Ferreira.
The Greater Springfield Salvation Army Citadel, located at 170 Pearl Street in Springfield, has been busy with preparations for the campaign.
“We have great staff in place. Danielle, who is our social services director, has been working very hard coordinating the effort with Hasbro and our other locations and with toy deliveries. We are also getting ready for our registration next week,” said Ronda Ferreira.
The Ferreiras expect an increase in the number of families registering to receive toys and gifts this year.
“Coats for Kids was up 30 to 40 percent this year overall. If that’s an indication of what’s going on in the county, then we expect an increase,” added John Ferreira.
About 20,000 children, from infants through 16 year olds, received gifts through Toy for Joy last year, with about 3,500 families receiving donations.
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George Burtch
“We thought he campaign did a great job to raise as much money as we did with all the challenges like tornadoes and hurricanes and snow, it’s a testament to the program. We were also happy our employees got to participate with unloading and handing out the games. It served Hasbro well on many fronts,” said Burtch.
Books play a large part of the Toy for Joy gifts, as an increasing effort to increase literacy. Literacy is a main goal of the Salvation Army’s community efforts.
"We hope that this tradition of giving will continue and thank all those who have given before and plan on continuing this year along with new doors to this important cause," said Phaneuf.
Salvation Army units in Springfield, Greenfield, Holyoke, Northampton and Westfield are participating in Toy for Joy.
Registration officially starts on Nov. 26; dates and hours vary with each unit. For more information, call (413) 733-1518. To make a contribution to the Toy for Joy fund, write: Toy for Joy, P.O. Box 3007, Springfield 01102. Contributions may also be dropped off with the coupon to The Republican, 1860 Main St., Springfield, weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. through Dec. 21.