Open Door Care Network celebrates its 38th Give a Toy and Share the Joy annual holiday toy drive this season.
The health care center today distributes over 3,500 new toys, during the holiday season to children at its six health centers. The drive is sustained entirely by donations from the community.
“Local companies, individuals, families, and schools are all encouraged to support the campaign by sponsoring toy drives or making donations through the first two weeks of December,” said Wendy Armstrong, senior manager of volunteer programs at Open Door. “In addition to new toys, we hope to provide our families with holiday gift bundles that will include books, pajamas and stocking stuffers. This year, we are promoting the theme ‘more family time and less screen time.’ We ask that donors look for interactive toys, puzzles, board games and all kinds of kits. The generosity of our donors has made such a huge difference in making the holiday season so very special for these youngsters and their families.”
The annual toy drive began in 1987 with a local family collecting 100 toys at their holiday party to distribute to Open Door patients in Ossining. Today, Open Door patients register for a time to pick up their holiday bags on a designated day in December at its sites in Ossining, Port Chester, Sleepy Hollow, Mount Kisco, Mamaroneck and Brewster.
For this year’s toy drive, volunteers are also needed to sort and distribute toys. For additional information on supporting the drive, contact warmstrong@odfmc.org or call 914-305-6877.