Portland Press Herald Toy Fund gets set to surprise kids for 69th year
The deadline for applications is Dec. 12.
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Toy Fund donations top $116,000 as effort continues year-round
The money is used to brighten the lives of thousands of Maine children who might otherwise not receive holiday gifts because of hardships faced by their parents.
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Volunteers keep the holiday Toy Fund going
Julie Pew of Yarmouth has been helping for decades – 'It's been so many years, I can't remember.'
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Holiday gift program has been active for 67 years.
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Winners of the annual raffle will be drawn on Saturday, and it's not too late to purchase a ticket.
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Donations are accepted year-round and ensure that the fund will have the resources to buy gifts the next year.
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Now 7, a young girl started the tradition as a kindergartner with help from her mother.
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The charity has so far raised more than $110,000 this season, and donations are still needed.
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They collect over $500 for the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund.
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Students at Greely Middle and Frank I. Brown Elementary schools raise money for children in need of holiday gifts.
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But thanks to the Toy Fund, their 6-year-old – and thousands of other children – will find gifts waiting to be unwrapped.
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Lucy Kenney of Cumberland, 10, baked treats for a week with her mom to raise money for the Toy Fund.
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But the many gifts that arrive in memory of loved ones do not necessarily have to be in honor of toy fund supporters.
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Some parents who write to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund are homeless, or on the verge of homelessness.
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Parents are also picking up presents, as donations run well short of the total through Dec. 20 last year.
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He and his daughter, 13, are the main caretakers for his special-needs son.
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The popular band will provide the music at Bunker Brewing Co. in Portland on Tuesday evening.
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In its first year, the fund's organizers sought to raise $1,000 for 1,000 toys.
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She is unable to provide holiday gifts for her kids this year.
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This year the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund is brand new to the Lewiston/Auburn area.
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They seek help from the Press Herald Toy Fund after making the 12-day drive to Maine.
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They both work, but their incomes don't produce enough cash to pay for Christmas toys, the mother writes.
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Constance Tripp would have wanted donations in her memory going to the toy fund.
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The Portland Press Herald fund assists a single dad with two boys, and a single mom with a 6-year-old.
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It's bad enough that her absentee father is in prison.
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The girl's mother writes a note asking for assistance from newspaper readers.
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The owner says the delivery service is an annual highlight for his company and its drivers.
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The midcoast boy's mother says he is imaginative, and loves Legos and action figures.
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Participants post messages and photos on social media and it becomes a big virtual office party happening simultaneously in employee cafeterias around Greater Portland.
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The legacies of two beloved women will brighten the holidays for children in need.
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It's exactly why the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund has been raising money and buying gifts for 68 years.
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The midcoast parents hope hard work at their jobs means next year they'll have Christmas in their own home.
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She is one of the countless grandparents whose soft spot for children translates into annual gifts to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund.
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'I financially am having a hard time with things,' she writes.
