‘Tis the Season! 18th Annual Toy Drive Serves 2,500 Children!

On December 24th, 2011 NJCDC held the 18th annual Holiday Party, in which 900 community members attended, including 50 NJCDC staff and volunteers. The day was filled with games led by the DJ, food, a giant inflatable bounce castle and an appearance by Santa! Over 500 children and their parents filled the gymnasium at St. Gerard’s Parish to receive their gifts and ring in the holiday season as a unified community.

Organized and led by the Paterson Community Schools Corps, the Toy Drive is NJCDC’s oldest tradition, and is made possible every year through the hard work and dedication of the AmeriCorps members. In addition to their regularly scheduled duties at school sites across the city, the Paterson Community Schools Corps AmeriCorps members work diligently to ensure that all children on the list receive 3-4 presents on Christmas Eve.

Chief Program Officer Michael Gowdy reflected on the day by saying, “I am so proud of the AmeriCorps staff for organizing this extraordinary event for the children we serve every day. This event would also not be possible without our dedicated supporters that donated over 6,500 toys—surpassing last year’s total of 6,000! On behalf of NJCDC, I would like to extend a warm thank you to all of the donors, volunteers and staff who made this day truly spectacular.”

2011 Toy Drive At a Glance:

• •  415 Community Applications
• •  125+ Individual donations
• •  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, over 6,500 toys were wrapped collected for distribution.
• •  2,487 children received presents, including referrals through:
  • - Catholic Charities
  • - Home Care Options
  • - Paterson Family Center
  • - Community Charter School of Paterson
  • - School #5
• •  Thousands of miscellaneous items collected including:
  • - 2,000 books
  • - Hundreds of slightly used and new clothing items (jackets, suits, etc.)
  • - 1,500+ non-perishable food items

View more 18th Annual Toy Holiday Party photos on Flickr.