Community Corner

Essex Center Seeks Toy Donations

The county's toy distribution center at Christian Community Church is expected to assist nearly 600 families this holiday season.

 

Dawn Stoots has volunteered for 15 years to help the county distribute toys to children in need in eastern Baltimore County.

In that time, she has seen a lot of hard-luck families, but never more than this year, she said, as she described people standing in line around the block at the Baltimore County Department of Social Services (DSS) toy distribution site at in Essex.

Find out what's happening in Essex-Middle Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She said they are having a harder time than ever trying to ensure that every family that qualifies receives toys for their children on Christmas.

“I’ve never seen the demand so high,” Stoots said. “It just appears to be the sign of the times.”

Find out what's happening in Essex-Middle Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Baltimore County volunteer services community director, Deborah Ward, said the Essex distribution center served 208 families on Monday, with another 375 families still invited to pick out toys for the holiday as part of the . There is concern about the center running out of toys

Ward said there is a need for more unwrapped, new toys, especially those for teenagers.

Examples of these types of gifts include sports balls, make-up kits, CDs, board games and hand-held video games. Ward said the average price of a donated toy is $10 and the county Department of Social Services suggests the price should not exceed $20.

Those wishing to donate a new, unwrapped toy can do so at any Baltimore County Public Library branch, at the Fullerton Self Storage (7989 Rossville Blvd.) and Silhouettes, located in the Kenwood Shopping Center (6249 B Kenwood Ave.).

Families that have registered with social services for the program will have the chance to select gifts for their children at one of three county “toy stores,” located in Essex, Reisterstown and Woodlawn.

“Gifts for older kids are often forgotten when people think of helping children in need,” Ward said. “There are plenty of gift ideas out there for older kids that aren’t necessarily expensive.”

Ward said the need is especially high for the Essex center, which by far serves more families than the other two county toy distribution centers combined.

Ward said the county has invited around 90 families to the Reisterstown center and 150 to the center in Woodlawn to pick out toys this week.

Delores Blaney agrees with Ward’s assessment. Blaney has volunteered at the Essex site for 16 years and is concerned they will run out of toys before helping everyone that is in need of assistance.

“I just have never seen such demand while the rate of donations is just not the same as I’ve seen in the past,” said Blaney, 80. “I’m just going to keep pushing, though, because that is what this season is supposed to be about.”

Along with the toy drive, the county is also seeking volunteers to participate in its Adopt-a-Family program. Individuals, families and/or groups can get involved by contacting social services.

The department will then help identify a family to help, which would include donating food for a holiday meal, a gift for each child and a piece of clothing for each family member.

In all, Ward said the county expects to serve at least 7,000 individuals this year between the Adopt-a-Family and toy drive programs, up from 6,713 in 2010.

Ward said those interested in adopting a family can call the volunteer office at 410-853-3024. She added that those wishing to make a monetary donation can make a check payable to “Fund for Social Welfare,” and mail it to 6401 York Road, Towson, MD 21212.

"We're just trying to do all we can to ensure we can help all of those that seek assistance this holiday season," Ward said. "The Essex-Middle River and Dundalk communities are among those that need our help the most."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Essex-Middle River