Tables at the South Portland Community Center with toys, toiletries, games and other gifts to be distributed to families in need in 2023. Drew Johnson / Sentry

Every November and December, the South Portland Toy Drive rallies community members to “adopt” children to provide Christmas gifts for – and the need has consistently grown.

Nearly 390 South Portland kids will benefit from the toy drive this year, up from 358 last year and about 300 in 2022.

“It means so much, not just for the kids, but the families who now don’t have that worry about how in the world they’re going to have something under the tree for their children,” said Laurel LaBauve, co-chair of the annual drive. “They need to focus on paying rent, buying food and making car payments. We’re just glad we can help out.”

Of the 387 children benefiting this year, 232 had been adopted as of Tuesday morning, according to LaBauve.

The South Portland Toy Drive goes beyond toys, LaBauve said, and extends into essentials – specifically winter gear. Along with information like interests, hobbies and favorite colors of the children they are adopting, the toy drive also provides donors with the clothing and boot sizes of each child.

Those are things some monetary donations – big and small – go toward, providing another way for people to contribute who may not have the means to provide all of a child’s gifts.

“Every little bit counts,” said co-Chair April Cohen. “Sometimes we get a check in the mail for $20. Last year, that bought a really nice coat at Costco. It doesn’t matter the amount of money that people want to contribute. It’s all helpful.”

Instead of giving each other gifts each Christmas, Robert and Theresa Libby of South Portland adopt a large family and provide for them.

“My wife and I, we have everything we could possibly want. We don’t need anything,” Robert Libby said. “So, we decided that it’s best to just give back to the community.”

Toy Drive co-Chair Laurel LaBauve, left, and volunteer and donor Theresa Libby sort through a donation of fly fishing equipment for a lucky South Portland youth last year. Drew Johnson / Sentry

The couple also volunteers on drop-off and distribution day.

“It’s amazing just to watch people come in and see their faces light up when they saw what was there for them,” Libby said.

Ernie Stanhope, owner of Embers Stoves and Fireplaces on Main Street, has been a donor for roughly a decade. He and the business adopt three to five families each year.

“Besides the business itself, some of the employees always get involved and adopt some families, too,” Stanhope said. “There are a lot of people out there that need some help, and we’re glad that we have the means. We like to be able to help as much as we can when we can.”

Danielle Dane said she first got involved with the toy drive in 2020 when she lived in the Stanwood Park neighborhood of South Portland.

“I wanted to adopt a family, but I knew that, as a young couple, we wouldn’t have been able to afford to adopt an entire family,” Dane said. “So, I said, ‘Why don’t we crowdsource this?'”

Dane organized a neighborhood drive by either having neighbors drop off toys or contribute money so they could shop for them.

“It turned into an annual thing with the Stanwood Park neighborhood,” Dane said.

The toys Danielle Dane collected from her neighborhood in Cape Elizabeth for the 2023 South Portland Toy Drive. Contributed / Danielle Dane

When she moved to Cape Elizabeth ahead of last year’s drive, Dane brought the drive to her new neighborhood of Brentwood East. This year, she’s extending the invitation to their “rival.”

“I’ve decided to include our, quote-unquote ‘rival neighborhood,’ Brentwood West,” Dane said. “Each neighborhood is going to be adopting a family and crowdsourcing gifts that way.”

In addition to helping organize or volunteering, many of those directly involved in the drive aim to provide gifts as well. Cohen tries to provide bikes for every kid that asks for one.

“I remember as a kid using a bike to go to school, and I needed it to get to work once I was in high school when I didn’t have a car,” Cohen said. “Some of these kids need it for transportation – to get to school, to get to work or just for enjoyment.”

Plus, it’s a gift that’s sure to put a smile on a child’s face.

“I remember being stoked when I got my first bike, so it’s important to me to get bikes for the kids that ask for one,” Cohen said.

Providing gifts for 387 kids is a tall order, but South Portland always seems up to the challenge, LaBauve said. In addition to residents, local businesses, organizations and the city’s municipal and school departments all lend a hand.

“We have individuals that adopt children, we have businesses that adopt children, we have neighborhoods that adopt children,” LaBauve said. “Then we’ve got all of these other businesses that are willing to be collection sites. We’ve got the Police Department out there helping us, the Fire Department helping collect all the boxes, Parks and Rec always adopts a whole bunch of kids, and the Housing Authority adopts children.”

Of course, the toy drive wouldn’t be possible without volunteers, LaBauve said, who help gather and sort the thousands of items they receive to ensure each toy, coat and bike goes to the right child.

“It’s just incredible how everybody comes together to support these kids,” LaBauve said.

For more information on the South Portland Toy Drive, including how to adopt a child, make monetary donations, volunteer and more, go to sopotoydrive.org.