Children across the state woke up early this morning to a scene that has brought excitement and joy to generations.

It’s not that they were surprised, mind you. They always believed that Santa would bring gifts to unwrap.

For thousands of parents, on the other hand, it was far from a sure thing.

Readers of The Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram made sure that parents had toys to give to more than 7,000 Maine children who might otherwise have gone without.

They did it by donating money — $113,350 so far this year — to the Bruce Roberts Toy Fund, a 61-year-old charity that protects the magic of Christmas morning from the sometimes-hard realities of life, such as unemployment, illness, divorce and poverty.

“I’ve been there,” said Ruth Hamm, an 81-year-old great-grandmother from Portland. “It was about 50 years ago.”

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Hamm was divorced, and had an 8-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter. She worked as a waitress at Woolworth’s, but money was tight and she didn’t know how she could give her children the Christmas they deserved, she said.

She turned to the Bruce Roberts fund, which began about a decade earlier by providing toys to 1,200 needy children in Portland.

“They helped me. I remember them bringing me the presents,” Hamm said. She also remembers making sure to write a note on each one before the kids unwrapped them on Christmas morning.

“I wanted the kids to think they were from Santa Claus. They never knew until they got big,” she said. “Now, they’re all grown up and have kids of their own. They all did pretty good.”

Her son went on to Harvard University and settled in Massachusetts. Her daughter, a waitress like her mother, lives nearby.

Hamm, who remarried and had two more sons, now has three grandchildren and one great-grandchild, with another due during the holidays. She planned to spend Christmas with her family, exchanging gifts.

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While the holiday season can be stressful for parents of young children even in good times, Hamm said she knows how hopeless it can feel in bad times. She is reminded each year when she reads newspaper articles about the mothers and fathers seeking help from Bruce Roberts.

This year, the parents who asked for help included a mother in much the same position as Hamm was a half-century ago. A single mother of two from York County, the woman works in a store, earning wages that can barely keep food on the table and doesn’t include anything extra for toys.

Her 8-year-old son can see the stress, she said, and told her she didn’t have to buy him any Christmas presents this year.

“He still believes in Santa so I tell him not to worry because Santa will bring him gifts. It is sweet, but breaks my heart at the same time,” she wrote. “Even one gift for each of them will be difficult.”

Genny Leathers, a mother and a volunteer at the Bruce Roberts warehouse, has seen that worry in the eyes of parents who have come to pick up toys at the Bruce Roberts warehouse. She also has seen the relief when they get a bag full of new toys.

“Some of the folks just have tears in their eyes because they know they can’t do it any other way,” Leathers said. “It just gives you a chill.”

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Hamm said she knows how much the toy fund’s help means for those families today. She also knows that tough times do get better.

She has repaid the Bruce Roberts Toy Fund many times over, donating what she can afford each year, usually anonymously. This year, her $20 check came with a small note of thanks for giving her family a happy Christmas all those years ago.

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful outfit. It was a big help to me,” she said. “I never forgot.”

Staff Writer John Richardson can be contacted at 791-6324 or at:

jrichardson@pressherald.com

LATEST DONATIONS

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Here are the latest donations to the Bruce Roberts Toy Fund:

Previously acknowledged: $94,607.06

In memory of David and Mary Whorf — Steven Whorf $2,000

Staff at CHADWICK–BaROSS Inc., Westbrook $500

In honor of the staff at Maine Medical and Mercy Hospitals by Maine Surgical Care Group $3,000

Employees Community Action Committee, Employees of General Dynamics — Saco $500

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Smile! — Maine Professional Photographers Association $200

Steven and Martina Leibiger $200

Studio For the Living Arts Dance Center, Gray, Pulse Dance Company performance 12/9/10 $2,000

Anonymous $70.88

Margaret H. Smith $2,504.34

Mrs. Small’s 2nd Grade Class, Windham Primary School $100

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Portland Newspaper Guild — Local 31128 $250

In loving memory of our granddaughter, Monique — Merrie and Tony Accuosti $1,000

Pamela Anzelc, D.D.S. $500

Mrs. Morton’s 4th grade class, Manchester School, Windham $50

Mrs. Hawthorne’s 2nd grade class, Windham Primary School $180

The children of Homeroom Emery–12, Waynflete School $400

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In memory of Nathan Eloian — David and Mark $100

Sevee & Maher Engineers Inc. $500

Boy Scouts of America, Cub Scout Pack #47, Scarborough, Silent Auction Bake Sale $475

Employee Fund Committee, Brockway-Smith Co. $200

Diversified Communications $1,000

Carol Everett $50

Advertisement

12/18/10 Portland Pirates vs. Manchester Monarchs hockey game $372.60

Diane and Carl Walp $50

In loving memory of Manny $50

Anonymous $50

Mary Turner $50

In memory of Jeff and Nana. Love forever, The Charlton family $20

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Anonymous $10

Merry Christmas to All! — M.M. $50

In loving memory of Larry and Brenton Soule — Jean C. Soule $50

In memory of our beloved friend, Anne Farley — The Cathedral Folk Group $75

In memory of our parents, Mr. Warren Herbert and Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ducharme $25

In loving memory of Rick Betters $25

Advertisement

In memory of Jim & Janice Owen $50

Merry Christmas — Christine Creighton $50

Peter Santoro $25

Donna Wagley $35

In memory of Pa Pa $25

Amy Woodhouse & Tobey Scott $200

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Mr. and Mrs Jack Kingston $100

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Martin $100

IATSE Portland Local No. 114 $250

Ronnie Small, Friends of Bow Street Market $200

Mary Ann Rost $25

In memory of Paul and Peg Garvin — Dean and Donna Barbalias $25

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Bill and Debra Mulvey $100

In memory of Zachary Lanouette — Emery and Barbara Howarth $50

Scott Woodward $50

Roger and Sally Knight $50

In memory of William Walton — Gregory Reynolds $250

In memory of Elmer and Marion Hildebrand and Eva Jackson — Richard and Linda Hildebrand $100

Advertisement

In memory of William Walton — Sarah Lucas and T.C. Hamlin $25

In memory of Joyce and Don and Bernice & Ron — Cindi Chapman $100

James Sidelinger $300

In loving memory of Justin — Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Thomas $25

Today’s total: $18,742.82

Total to date: $113,349.88

Advertisement

 

Children across the state woke up early this morning to a scene that has brought excitement and joy to generations.

It’s not that they were surprised, mind you. They always believed that Santa would bring gifts to unwrap.

For thousands of parents, on the other hand, it was far from a sure thing.

Readers of The Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram made sure that parents had toys to give to more than 7,000 Maine children who might otherwise have gone without.

They did it by donating money — $113,350 so far this year — to the Bruce Roberts Toy Fund, a 61-year-old charity that protects the magic of Christmas morning from the sometimes-hard realities of life, such as unemployment, illness, divorce and poverty.

Advertisement

“I’ve been there,” said Ruth Hamm, an 81-year-old great-grandmother from Portland. “It was about 50 years ago.”

Hamm was divorced, and had an 8-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter. She worked as a waitress at Woolworth’s, but money was tight and she didn’t know how she could give her children the Christmas they deserved, she said.

She turned to the Bruce Roberts fund, which began about a decade earlier by providing toys to 1,200 needy children in Portland.

“They helped me. I remember them bringing me the presents,” Hamm said. She also remembers making sure to write a note on each one before the kids unwrapped them on Christmas morning.

“I wanted the kids to think they were from Santa Claus. They never knew until they got big,” she said. “Now, they’re all grown up and have kids of their own. They all did pretty good.”

Her son went on to Harvard University and settled in Massachusetts. Her daughter, a waitress like her mother, lives nearby.

Advertisement

Hamm, who remarried and had two more sons, now has three grandchildren and one great-grandchild, with another due during the holidays. She planned to spend Christmas with her family, exchanging gifts.

While the holiday season can be stressful for parents of young children even in good times, Hamm said she knows how hopeless it can feel in bad times. She is reminded each year when she reads newspaper articles about the mothers and fathers seeking help from Bruce Roberts.

This year, the parents who asked for help included a mother in much the same position as Hamm was a half-century ago. A single mother of two from York County, the woman works in a store, earning wages that can barely keep food on the table and doesn’t include anything extra for toys.

Her 8-year-old son can see the stress, she said, and told her she didn’t have to buy him any Christmas presents this year.

“He still believes in Santa so I tell him not to worry because Santa will bring him gifts. It is sweet, but breaks my heart at the same time,” she wrote. “Even one gift for each of them will be difficult.”

Genny Leathers, a mother and a volunteer at the Bruce Roberts warehouse, has seen that worry in the eyes of parents who have come to pick up toys at the Bruce Roberts warehouse. She also has seen the relief when they get a bag full of new toys.

Advertisement

“Some of the folks just have tears in their eyes because they know they can’t do it any other way,” Leathers said. “It just gives you a chill.”

Hamm said she knows how much the toy fund’s help means for those families today. She also knows that tough times do get better.

She has repaid the Bruce Roberts Toy Fund many times over, donating what she can afford each year, usually anonymously. This year, her $20 check came with a small note of thanks for giving her family a happy Christmas all those years ago.

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful outfit. It was a big help to me,” she said. “I never forgot.”

Staff Writer John Richardson can be contacted at 791-6324 or at:

jrichardson@pressherald.com

Advertisement

LATEST DONATIONS

Previously acknowledged: $94,607.06

In memory of David and Mary Whorf — Steven Whorf $2,000

Staff at CHADWICK–BaROSS Inc., Westbrook $500

In honor of the staff at Maine Medical and Mercy Hospitals by Maine Surgical Care Group $3,000

Employees Community Action Committee, Employees of General Dynamics — Saco $500

Advertisement

Smile! — Maine Professional Photographers Association $200

Steven and Martina Leibiger $200

Studio For the Living Arts Dance Center, Gray, Pulse Dance Company performance 12/9/10 $2,000

Anonymous $70.88

Margaret H. Smith $2,504.34

Mrs. Small’s 2nd Grade Class, Windham Primary School $100

Advertisement

Portland Newspaper Guild — Local 31128 $250

In loving memory of our granddaughter, Monique — Merrie and Tony Accuosti $1,000

Pamela Anzelc, D.D.S. $500

Mrs. Morton’s 4th grade class, Manchester School, Windham $50

Mrs. Hawthorne’s 2nd grade class, Windham Primary School $180

The children of Homeroom Emery–12, Waynflete School $400

Advertisement

In memory of Nathan Eloian — David and Mark $100

Sevee & Maher Engineers Inc. $500

Boy Scouts of America, Cub Scout Pack #47, Scarborough, Silent Auction Bake Sale $475

Employee Fund Committee, Brockway-Smith Co. $200

Diversified Communications $1,000

Carol Everett $50

Advertisement

12/18/10 Portland Pirates vs. Manchester Monarchs hockey game $372.60

Diane and Carl Walp $50

In loving memory of Manny $50

Anonymous $50

Mary Turner $50

In memory of Jeff and Nana. Love forever, The Charlton family $20

Advertisement

Anonymous $10

Merry Christmas to All! — M.M. $50

In loving memory of Larry and Brenton Soule — Jean C. Soule $50

In memory of our beloved friend, Anne Farley — The Cathedral Folk Group $75

In memory of our parents, Mr. Warren Herbert and Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ducharme $25

In loving memory of Rick Betters $25

Advertisement

In memory of Jim & Janice Owen $50

Merry Christmas — Christine Creighton $50

Peter Santoro $25

Donna Wagley $35

In memory of Pa Pa $25

Amy Woodhouse & Tobey Scott $200

Advertisement

Mr. and Mrs Jack Kingston $100

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Martin $100

IATSE Portland Local No. 114 $250

Ronnie Small, Friends of Bow Street Market $200

Mary Ann Rost $25

In memory of Paul and Peg Garvin — Dean and Donna Barbalias $25

Advertisement

Bill and Debra Mulvey $100

In memory of Zachary Lanouette — Emery and Barbara Howarth $50

Scott Woodward $50

Roger and Sally Knight $50

In memory of William Walton — Gregory Reynolds $250

In memory of Elmer and Marion Hildebrand and Eva Jackson — Richard and Linda Hildebrand $100

Advertisement

In memory of William Walton — Sarah Lucas and T.C. Hamlin $25

In memory of Joyce and Don and Bernice & Ron — Cindi Chapman $100

James Sidelinger $300

In loving memory of Justin — Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Thomas $25

Today’s total: $18,742.82

Total to date: $113,349.88


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