Every year, for more than a decade, the Northampton Lions Club delivers a check to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund to bring some holiday cheer to children in need.
“It is the time of year for giving,” said Philip Giers, a board member and past club president. “We felt the more things we could do for the community, the better off things would be, especially this time of the year.”
About a half-dozen group members from the service organization, and their lion mascot, came to the Gazette to present a $1,500 check on Wednesday.
The yearly donation to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund is one of many gifts the group gives as part of its community giving mission, but it is one of the largest donations that the club makes, said the club’s president Meghan McCormick.
Over time, the members have worked hard to make sure that their toy fund gift keeps growing. When the club first started donating to the fund in the 1990s they could typically only raise a couple hundred dollars, but in recent years they have been able to break the $1,000 threshold by holding fundraisers throughout the year, Giers said.
The money is distributed through the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund, which provides certificates redeemable at participating local retailers to eligible families who can use them to buy holiday gifts at participating stores through Dec. 31, 2016.
The vouchers are available to eligible families who live in any Hampshire County community, except Ware, or in the southern Franklin County towns of Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately, Shutesbury and Leverett.
Typically, the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund gets about $70,000 in donations every year, said Pat Maleno, the director of human resources at the Gazette, the Recorder, and the Valley Advocate.
The Northampton Lions Club’s most recent donation on Wednesday brings the club’s total donations to the toy fund over the years to $13,350, said the club’s president McCormick.
The Lions Club also gives back to the community by regularly donating to organizations like the Northampton Survival Center, a food pantry and resource center dedicated to serving low-income families throughout Hampshire County.
They also donate to the Clarke School for Hearing and Speech, a school in Northampton, which specializes in educating deaf children.
To better serve the community, the club is always looking for new volunteers. There is no minimum time commitment to join the local Northampton branch of one of the world’s largest service organizations.
“If people like what we are doing, contact a Lion and get involved,” said John Rhoades, a past president.
The Lions’ gift will help pay for the up to 1,700 toy vouchers distributed to buy local children $40 worth of gifts during the holiday season.
Stores like the Toy Box in Amherst and A2Z Science and Learning Store in Northampton participate.
Named after a former business manager at the Gazette, the fund began in 1933 to help families in need during the Depression. Today, the fund distributes vouchers to families for each child from age 1 to 14.
Berkshire Children and Families, at 220 Russell St. in Hadley, verifies families’ eligibility and the Gazette covers costs associated with the drive, freeing all donations to fund the vouchers. Most families who receive assistance are referred by social service agencies.
Other store participating this year: Deals & Steals, One Pearl St., Northampton; JCPenney, 341 Russell St., Hadley; Wilson’s Dept. Store, 258 Main St., Greenfield; Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, 227 Russell St., Hadley; and Target, 367 Russell St., Hadley.
Donations to the Toy Fund may be dropped off at or mailed to the Daily Hampshire Gazette at 115 Conz St. in Northampton, 01060, or made through Gazettenet at toyfund.gazettenet.com.
Checks should be made payable to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund.
Lisa Spear can be reached at lspear@gazettenet.com.