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Date: 12/29/2021
HUNTINGTON – Anyone in the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts who needed help with toys for the holidays was able to find them this season at The Village Closet, 2 E. Main St., Huntington, due to generous last-minute donations.
Directors of the Village Closet, a donation center and diaper bank for families with young children primarily serving the Hilltowns, received a call a few days before Christmas from the Toys for Tots Donation Center in Chicopee.
Program Director Lisa Goding said last year the Village Closet had received some toys at the end of the drive, and this year it had applied to be a recipient, but was told it had missed the deadline. However, she said the Huntington-based nonprofit received a call last week from the Marine Corps League asking It Takes a Village to rent a 26-foot truck, because the Marines’ Toys for Tots campaign had been successful beyond its goals.
Goding said her organization rented the truck, and it arrived filled with toys on Dec. 22. The Village Closet also received $5,000 worth of children’s books from The Tiny Activist book company, and the Rock House Ridge farm in Huntington offered free Christmas trees to anyone picking up toys.
Volunteers picked up and unloaded the supplies. Goding worked with Gateway Regional School Superintendent Kristen Smidy and Pupil Services Director Kurt Garivaltis to contact families who could use the help, and lined up volunteers to deliver toys to those that didn’t have transportation.
Goding said they also pulled out toys for other social service agencies, including Jewish Family Services, which is resettling Afghan refugees in Western Massachusetts, and the Justice Resource Institute in Holyoke. She said some seasonal toys will be set aside for summer.
The Village Closet is now be closed for a much-needed break until Jan. 2, 2022, and not accepting donations. The agency will resume regular hours at 11 a.m. on Jan. 3. Normal open hours are Sundays and Mondays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Tuesdays, 5-7 p.m. All visitors over 2 years old must wear a face mask and practice social distancing.
For more about the Village Closet and It Takes a Village’s other support programs, visit www.hilltownvillage.org or call 650-3640. It Takes a Village also accepts monetary donations to help keep its services free to everyone.