HADLEY — Most donors to the Toy Fund give in memory of a person or people, but Hadley resident Glenn Meakim gives in memory of someone else special to him — his 15-year-old yellow Labrador retriever named Anya.

“She was the sweetest dog,” Meakim said. “She was the neighborhood welcome wagon. She loved everybody.”

Meakim got Anya when she was 8 weeks old; after that, he said, “She was my companion for 15 years.” When he wasn’t at work, they were inseparable.

One of the happiest times in Anya’s life was spending three summers at Greenwood Music Camp in Cummington, where she could run around freely, surrounded by dozens of children. She loved to fall asleep listening to the campers playing music in their practice cabins. At Greenwood, Meakim laughed, “She really got into classical music. I couldn’t believe it!”

Anya was beloved by everyone she met, including Meakim’s tenant, their neighbors, employees at Smith College, and his three cats.

“There wasn’t anybody she didn’t get along with,” he said.

When Anya passed away, Meakim said, “It left an emptiness.” She’s buried next to their house with her toys, marked by an angel statue and a stuffed dog. After her death, Meakim stopped going on walks for a time because that had been their shared activity. He only recently bought a real Christmas tree — his first in 10 years — because he’d had some when Anya was young, and he “needed to have some happiness in the house.” He’s thought about getting another dog, but he probably won’t. “No one can replace her,” he said.

While Meakim makes donations to animal organizations including Dakin Humane Society and the American Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals, with a donation to the Toy Fund, he wants to help make children happy — something Anya loved. As he put it, “She loved kids; I love the idea of kids getting Christmas.”

“Kids need to have presents,” he said. “They grow up so fast nowadays, their childhood has to be something they remember positively.”

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; 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; World Eye Bookshop, 134 Main St., Greenfield; Holyoke Sporting Goods Co., and 1584 Dwight St. No. 1, Holyoke.