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Date: 11/23/2020
WEST SPRINGFIELD – The West Springfield Police Department (WSPD) is once again supporting the Operation Santa Program in West Springfield by hosting multiple Stuff-a-Cruiser events across three days.
The Operation Santa Program, which is sponsored by the West Springfield Park and Recreation Department and the Operation Santa committee, distributes food vouchers, gift certificates, and toys to low-income families throughout the city, according to the Stuff-a-Cruiser Facebook page. The community program also works in conjunction with the West Springfield Parish Cupboard.
If residents would like to donate toys for Operation Santa, they can do so by bringing their toy donation to Pintu’s Indian Palace, 25 Park Ave., on Nov. 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m, or Collin’s Tavern, 997 Westfield St., on Dec. 5 and 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. These are the times when the Stuff-A-Cruiser events will take place.
“We’ve always done Pintu’s because, there just a really good community partner,” said Carly Camossi, the outreach coordinator for West Springfield. “We’ve never done Collin’s Tavern, but they’ve also been a really good community partner. We just like to spread it around.”
Camossi, who has been working in West Springfield for a little over four years, said that residents can also drop off their toy donations at the town hall, police department, and park and recreation department throughout the rest of November. Residents must make sure that their toy donations are unwrapped when dropping them off at the Stuff-A-Cruiser events, or any of the other locations.
“We will collect toys throughout the month of November and December, and we will donate them to Operation Santa,” said Camossi. The Operation Santa committee will then distribute these toys to children in need, from newborns through 15 years of age.
Due to COVID-19, Camossi and company have made a few adjustments to the actual distribution of these toys through the Operation Santa Program.
“Usually, what we have is a delivery day,” said Camossi. “That’s going to be different this year. We’re going to be having a central pickup location, so that will cut down on the amount of volunteers we need, and the amount of people we have congregating.”
The program would also give out food baskets in the past, but due to a variance in family and food basket size, Camossi said that Operation Santa is instead handing out gift certificates for stores such as Big Y, so families can buy what they want for food and other needs.
According to the Operation Santa main page on the West Springfield town website, only persons currently residing in West Springfield through Dec. 12 are eligible for these toys, gift certificates, and/or food vouchers.
The website also includes income guidelines to clarify who’s eligible to sign up to receive the toy donations, gift certificates, or food vouchers. Individuals should visit https://www.townofwestspringfield.org/government/departments/park-and-recreation/events/operation-santa-2020 to see if they or their family falls within these guidelines. Families or individuals needed to complete an application to be eligible for the program by Nov. 6. Individuals with questions should call 263-3284, according to the website.
“I think that the climate that we’re in now, there’s unrest everywhere,” said Camossi. “I think that this is something nice that the town of West Springfield can do for it’s community. Everything that we’re doing here is going to a West Springfield family, which is just heartwarming.”
Camossi believes that events such as these are important because everyone collectively knows “what we’re up against.
“All the unemployment, all of the devastation that we’ve been through, especially this year … It’s nice to see everyone saying, ‘You know what, I want to do something nice for these families,’” said Camossi.
According to the website, the Operation Santa committee will contact families who have applied for the Operation Santa Program, either through email or by phone. During this discussion, the committee and the family or individual will schedule a time to personally pick up food vouchers and/or toys between Dec. 7 and 18. Other arrangements will be made if transportation is an issue for the applicants.