Editor’s note: Periodically this holiday season the Gazette will feature stories from our archives that highlight the generous spirit that the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund brings out in people. This story ran 25 years ago.
Christmas can be a sad and stressful time for parents who can’t afford to buy presents, and for their children, who can’t understand why Santa Claus would slight them.
Carol Dineen, South Hadley’s town nurse, has seen these children in her daily rounds for 20 years. She encounters them while administering immunizations, examining homes for lead paint or checking on families who can’t pay their utility bills.
What these children in dire economic circumstances all have in common, she says, is an undying hope that Santa will come Christmas Eve, despite parents’ warnings about how Santa may have to skip their home. So 14 years ago, Dineen decided to make sure that these children didn’t have to lose hope, especially at such an early age.
With money raised by the South Hadley Lions Club, Dineen has become somewhat of a Santa herself, making a list during the year, checking it twice, so that even children of poverty in South Hadley will still get a visit from Kris Kringle.
“I believe there is a Santa Claus in South Hadley,” said Board of Health receptionist Ola Hebert, of Dineen.
Every year, Hebert helps Dineen organize the piles of wrapped gifts that end up clogging her office in Town Hall on the last days before Christmas Eve.
But Dineen quickly shifts any praise onto others.
“This is a very caring community,” she said. “We talk to school nurses, policemen; we’ll get calls from neighbors calling with concerns, knowing the family can’t afford anything for Christmas.”
This year, the effort raised $2,000, which was spent on children from 17 families. On Christmas morning, these kids found coats, pajamas, dolls, and puzzles awaiting them.
“I sit down with the parents and go over with them what the child needs first,” said Dineen. “And then we add a toy that the child would like to have.”
The South Hadley Lions Club then steps in and raises money to pay for the presents, through raffles, or other fund-raisers throughout the year. In the few days before Christmas, Lions Treasurer Rene Faivre and his wife Karynn hold an annual wrapping party, attracting guests with the promise of music and food.
“It’s a great feeling to give of yourself like this at Christmas,” he said. “It’s great to see a project like this come to fruition every year.”
Dineen said any effort she expends each year is forgotten when she sees the children later, after Christmas, when they still have the boundless optimism natural to youngsters.
“The first and foremost reason I do it is hoping that children will still believe in Santa Claus,” she said.
To be eligible for the Toy Fund, families must live in any Hampshire County community except Ware, or in the southern Franklin County towns of Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately, Shutesbury and Leverett, and in Holyoke in Hampden County.
The following stores are participating 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; Plato’s Closet, 1472 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, 134 Main St., Greenfield; Holyoke Sporting Goods Co., and 1584 Dwight St. No. 1, Holyoke.