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Toys For Tots Low on DonationsBy Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
02:56PM / Wednesday, December 10, 2008
CHESHIRE, Mass. — When Rosanne Beauchamp showed up at the state police barracks on Route 8 carrying a few toys, it was a welcome sight.
The state police have been partnering with the Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program for two decades now, but donations have been really low this year at the Cheshire drop-off, said station commander Lt. William Blackmer.
"She said she had some more in her vehicle," said Blackmer. "We asked her if she needed help — it took a couple of troopers a few trips to bring them all in."
Beachamp said the brand-new toys came from friends and family who attended a Christmas party at her home over the weekend.
"People always ask 'what can I bring?' Usually we end up with a ton of food," she said on Wednesday. "This year, I said bring a toy for [Toys For Tots]. ... Because we had some bad weather here, some people who couldn't make it dropped off toys beforehand."
She came up with the idea after hosting a fall get-together that invited guests to bring a food donation for the Christian Center.
The Richmond resident's contribution filled the donation box set up in the barrack's lobby with stuffed animals, cars, dolls and games.
That's good news for the local Toys For Tots campaign.
"I can tell you that donations are down right now for us," said Marine Sgt. Jason Rose, coordinator for this year's Western Massachusetts drive with the 4th Marine Division's Machine Gun Platoon, Anti-Terrorism Battalion based at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee.
Submitted photo
Lt. William Blackmer and Rosanne Beauchamp of Richmond with the donations she brought to the Cheshire barracks for Toys For Tots |
The battalion distributes toys to some 30,000 to 35,000 children in the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire for Christmas. This year, some 36,000 children have been signed up for the 61-year-old program.
Contributions are particularly lagging for toys for older children, mainly for those ages 10 and up, said Rose. "For some reason, we're having a lot of trouble filling the older girls."
There is a specific need for toys designed for children under age 2 and non-violent toys for children ages 9 to 12. Donations are also accepted online.
A teen celebrating her 15th birthday, thinking along similar lines as Beauchamp, asked her guests to bring a gift for the toy program instead of for her, said Rose. That brought in 50 presents, but not enough to cover the increase in need.
Requests overall are up 25 percent in the Bay State but contributions were down 50 percent as of last week. The economy is being blamed in part for the drop-off. It also might be a matter of just getting the word out.
Beauchamp said she wasn't sure where to bring the toys but remembered the state police had accepted them in the past.
They've been doing so for 20 years now. People can drop off new, unwrapped toys at any state police barracks. Nearly 200 other locations are also accepting toys for the program, including Sleepy's mattress stores and Aubuchon Hardware Stores. For a complete list of drop-off points for Western Mass., click here.
"It's definitely important getting the word out there that we're hurting," said Rose, who's from the region. "A lot of businesses are getting behind us."
Blackmer is encouraging anyone who'd like to donate a new toy to drop by the barracks.
"We'd be happy to see people and it's nice to see something good," he said, since troopers so often have to deal with bad situations. "It was nice to see [Beauchamp] come in, she was like sunshine on a cloudy day."
The deadline for donating to Toys for Tots is Thursday, Dec. 18.
Update Tuesday, Dec. 16
Lt. William Blackmer let us know that donations have risen since this article was published. "Toy donations are no longer lower this year!" he e-mailed us. "I am sitting in my office, which has become the overflow for the lobby toy box. My desk is all that is left of my office." I'm sure Lt. Blackmer will join us in thanking everyone for their donations — and making a lot of children happy.
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