NORTHAMPTON — Married couple Catherine and Robert Brooks have repeatedly given to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund because they believe that on Christmas morning no child should feel left out from the age-old tradition of waking up and having something under the tree.
Catherine said that given the commercial sensationalism, and the fact that peers of young people are often inundated with gifts, she believes it is important to ensure that children have something “tangible” on Christmas morning, and so they pitched in $200 this year.
“We are financially comfortable and we want to share what we have to help children have a memorable Christmas,” said Catherine. “For children, I think it is important that they have tangible things on Christmas.”
With all the venues that collect toys, why the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund?
“It’s local, which is nice. It’s a way to get money into the local community,” Catherine said.
Robert, who works as a software engineer, was originally from Connecticut. Catherine is a native of North Carolina and works as a researcher for the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton.
Attracted to the city’s progressive spirit, they came to Northampton in 1999 and have been Gazette readers since then.
“We moved up here because it was a progressive community aligned with our values,” Robert 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 $65 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; High Five Books, 141 N. Main St., Florence; The Toy Box, 201 N. Pleasant St., Amherst; Comics N More, 64 Cottage St., Easthampton; 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; Holyoke Sporting Goods Co., and 1584 Dwight St. No. 1, Holyoke.
