He sounds like most 4-year-olds. He enjoys Legos, Play-Doh and action figures, according to his mother.
“He has a bright imagination and loves cars and dinosaurs, as well,” the midcoast woman wrote in a note to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund.
But, while he is anticipating a holiday brightened by new toys, his mother is more worried about giving him a home.
“My family and I have struggled with being homeless for a year and most likely will not be able to provide our 4-year-old son with a Christmas this year. With having to pay for a storage unit and our other bills and struggling to find a permanent home,” there is no money to buy gifts for him.
Being together is enough for the rest of the family, she wrote, but she doesn’t want their struggles to deprive her son of a joyful Christmas morning.
“Our son deserves to have at least something rather than nothing at all,” she wrote.
The Portland Press Herald Toy Fund in the Spirit of Bruce Roberts is using donations from readers to provide toys to thousands of Maine children who might otherwise not receive holiday gifts because of hardships faced by their parents. Bruce Roberts was the original pen name of the newspaper columnist who co-founded the fund in 1949.
The fund – now in its 68th year – is accepting applications for toys from needy families in Cumberland, York, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Androscoggin and Knox counties.
Applications can be downloaded at pressheraldtoyfund.org or picked up at the Press Herald’s Welcome Center at 295 Gannett Drive in South Portland. Call 791-6672 to have one mailed to you.
Donations to help buy the toys can be made at pressheraldtoyfund.org or by writing checks to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund and mailing them to the fund at P.O. Box 7310, Portland, ME 04112.
TOY FUND DONATIONS
In memory of Ruth Baltas, who loved Christmas and the happiness it brought children! Ted Baltas $100
In memory of Harry Burnham, who was a kid at heart! Ted Baltas $100
Caring and sharing, Kier and Erik $30
Merry Christmas from the McCarron family $50
The Jellison Wall family $50
SGC Engineering, LLC $2,000
Julie R. Blodgett $50
Jay and Barbara Bock $250
Lydon Construction $100
Marjorie Hodges $50
From Mr. & Mrs. Charles Dodge – Merry Christmas! $100
Lorna Dorsey $50
Thomas & Constance Smith $35
In memory of our daughter, Beth Polletto, beloved music teacher $50
Sam and Faith Beal $100
In memory of my sister & brother-in-law, Peggy & Bob Jewett $200
Anonymous $750
Caleb & Cara $25
In memory of Dad and Johnny $25
In memory of Dick and Arline Curry $100
Keep up the good work of the Toy Fund! Hester & Byron Stuhlman $25
Ron Houle $50
Peter & Caitlin Kane $100
Total year to date $34,704
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