NORTHAMPTON — For city couple Philip and Marcia Chapman-Bell, giving to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund is a way to honor the legacy of their respective fathers.
Philip’s father, William F. Bell, was a longtime city editor of the Berkshire Eagle newspaper, which carries its own toy fund donation drive. In addition to being an editor, Bell was a poet who won the Richard Wilbur Award in 2012 for his poetry, something the younger Chapman-Bell said he would rather be remembered for.
Philip also recalled his father was an enthusiastic supporter of the toy fund drive, understanding the importance it had for the children it served.
“He knew how important it was for kids to have toys on their Christmas morning,” he recalled. “Especially because in his role at the newspaper, he knew families that weren’t as fortunate.”
Philip’s father-in-law, Calvin Chapman, was also a man who held charitable deeds close to his heart. Calvin Chapman worked delivering propane, often serving low-income families, and also spent time running the food pantry at the First United Presbyterian Church in Salem, New York.
“He knew every poor person in town,” Philip Chapman-Bell said. “He always made sure that the pantry was stocked and people had what they needed.”
Now, the Chapman-Bell family continues that tradition by giving to the Gazette’s Toy Fund every year, including a $250 donation this year.
“It’s something our parents felt strongly about, and so do we,” Philip said.
Named after a former business manager at the Gazette, the Toy Fund began in 1933 to help families in need during the Depression. Today, the fund distributes vouchers worth $50 to qualifying families for each child from age 1 to 14.
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.
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
