Almost 50 years later, Tommy Toy Fund keeps giving - the need is great

There are many signs that’ll tell you it’s the holiday season in eastern Connecticut. One of them is seeing the Tommy Toy Fund sign out.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the Tommy Toy Fund gave toys to thousands of local families in need, said Scott Umbel, the vice president of Community Impact for the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut.

There was so much need for Tommy Toy Fund this year that the United Way had to end registration early this year, as there was high demand from the community. The registration capped out at a similar number to last year, Umbel said.

The Tommy Toy Fund’s story started in 1974, when a boy named Tommy wrote a letter to The Bulletin, saying he would not be getting any toys at Christmas.

The family, with both parents out of work, had just enough money for medical bills, rent, utilities and food. A story was written about the boy’s letter. On the morning it was printed, readers dropped off loads of toys, with enough left over to give presents to other children in need.

Supporting families in need for half a century

Despite being almost 50 years old, the charity is still well-supported by the community, United Way of Southeastern Connecticut Community Impact Director Carli Herz said.

“It shows how generous our community is, and how much they care,” she said.

Each year the Tommy Toy Fund gets donations of toys and cash to buy them, and distributes those toys by gender and age group, from infants to tweens. The families get to give their children toys, games, and books. Some of the most generous donations came from  Connecticut State Police, the Norwich Police Department, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. Plenty of community members contributed many trunks full of donations as well, Herz said.

Companies, community organizations and nonprofits also donate their time. On Thursday in Norwich, Dime Bank employees were at the door greeting people, while Samantha DiFranceseca of Thames Valley Council for Community Action (TVCCA) was among the volunteers gathering gifts and putting them in bags.

Tommy Toy Fund is an important resource, as it covers a form of aid that TVCCA doesn’t do on its own, DiFrancesca said.

“Since we don’t have anything in-house, we’re grateful we have this organization to refer families out,” she said.

Distribution sites were in New London, Dayville, and Norwich. At the Norwich site, the basement of Reliance Health’s Cliff St. building, there was a rush of people first thing in the morning, with crowds calming down later, Herz said.

One local parent, Marie Adelus, was picking up for her two children; one is six and the other is a baby. The Tommy Toy Fund helps keep children happy, and parents at ease, she said.

“A lot of people don’t have money to even purchase things right now, “ Adelus said, “When you get it for free, that’s one problem the parents can forget about.”

Willimantic resident Glormar Rivera was also picking up toys for two children, her son and stepson. Rivera had received toys from Tommy Toy last year for her son as well. Even the smallest gift can bring joy to a child, she said.

“I just like seeing smiles on my kids’ face,” she said.

For anyone who wants to donate, volunteer, check the Tommy Toy Fund section of the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut website, Herz said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Tommy Toy Fund keeps giving to eastern CT families