Oscar Reich loves Christmas. The 11-year-old from Amherst loves the holiday season and he loves presents.
He recognizes that not everyone is as lucky as he is to get presents. So he did something about it.
Oscar donated $30 to the Sydney F. Smith Toy Fund in early December after reading about it in the Daily Hampshire Gazette. He said he felt compelled.
“I wanted some other people to have the joy of getting presents,” Reich said. “I felt proud. I also felt happy for those other people who would get presents.”
He received the money as a birthday present in November. Oscar asked for money to donate to charitable causes in addition to a Louisville Slugger baseball bat and a new batting helmet.
Johanna Neumann, his mother, started the tradition of giving her children money to donate to charitable causes at Christmas in 2016. That created the model for him to make that request.
“It’s part of who he is as a kid. We all have a lot we can learn from that. Regardless of how much we have we can share,” Neumann said. “When we share our love, it grows. You learn that in preschool.”
Oscar showed a willingness to give and to share even in preschool, and Neumann wasn’t surprised that he wanted to keep giving as he got older. He made his case for other to join him and give, too.
“You probably like the presents that you get for Christmas or Hanukkah. Some other people don’t get that choice,” he said. “You should take a chance to give some presents to people that don’t usually get a lot of presents.”
Named after a former business manager at the Gazette, the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund began in 1933 to help families in need during the Depression. Today, the fund distributes vouchers worth $40 to families for each child from age 1 to 14. Eligible families must live in any Hampshire County community except Ware, in the southern Franklin County towns of Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately, Shutesbury, and Leverett, or in Holyoke in Hampden County.
18 Degrees Family Services for Western Massachusetts at 59 Interstate Drive in West Springfield verifies families’ eligibility and the Gazette covers costs associated with the drive, freeing all donations to fund the vouchers.
The following stores are accepting the vouchers this year: A2Z Science and Learning Store, 57 King St., Northampton; Blue Marble/Little Blue, 150 Main St., Level 1, Northampton: Deals & Steals, 1 Pearl St., Northampton; High Five Books, 141 N. Main St., Florence; The Toy Box, 201 N. Pleasant St., Amherst; Once Upon A Child,1458 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, 227 Russell St., Hadley; Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St., Village Commons, South Hadley; The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 W. Bay Road, Amherst; World Eye Bookshop & Magical Child Toy Store, 134 Main St., Greenfield; Holyoke Sporting Goods Co., 1584 Dwight St. No. 1, Holyoke.
Donations to the Toy Fund may be mailed to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, P.O. Box 299, Northampton, MA, 01061, or made through Gazettenet at www.gazettenet.com.
Checks should be made payable to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund.