By Ron Chimelis | rchimelis@repub.com
(masslive.com) When Link to Libraries heard the Toy for Joy campaign was in the hunt for quality books for children, the Western Massachusetts nonprofit didn’t hesitate to act.
“It’s a win-win,” says Amy Anderlonis, executive vice president of the Hampden-based organization, which delivered 600 high-quality books to the Toy for Joy effort that benefits underprivileged children in three Western Massachusetts counties.
“Our goal is not to have books sit on our warehouse shelves for long. We want to put them in the hands of children, especially those in need, to help develop their love for reading,” Anderlonis said. “We are honored to partner with Toy for Joy and the (co-sponsoring) Salvation Army.”
Toy for Joy is in its 101st year and will deliver a toy and book to each eligible child 16 and under whose families have registered with Salvation Army locations in Springfield, Holyoke and Greenfield.
The goal is to raise $150,000 by Christmas Eve. Donations of any size by individuals, groups or companies make this possible, as contributions cover the costs of toys, games and books purchased for this year.
Toy for Joy is sponsored collaboratively by the Salvation Army, The Republican, Reminders Publishing, El Pueblo Latino and MassLive. Hampden County Sheriff Nicholas J. Cocchi leads the list of community partners in this year’s campaign.
According to Salvation Army social ministries manager Danielle LaTaille, who works at the Springfield citadel, book donations assured that the literacy goal of Toy for Joy would again be a success.
“We were struggling to find appropriate books in the 10-to-12 year-old range. We reached out to Link to Libraries, and they responded with great books of high quality, the type that children will read and enjoy,” LaTaille said.
More generosity came from Agawam resident Jeff Moran, who donated 30 cases and hundreds of books written by his daughter. Deeply grateful for this gift, LaTaille said they will be targeted for younger children in the age 3 to 9 bracket.
“These books have good messages that if you do good for others, good will come back to you,” LaTaille said.
Link to Library’s books are of varied, age-appropriate content to recognize different interests amongst different children.
“We’ve distributed more than 1 million books. We look for books that children identify with and that speak to them,” Anderlonis said.
The nonprofit has delivered books to every public elementary school in Springfield and maintains a presence in schools and libraries throughout Western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut. It also sponsors Read Aloud programs with the added feature of giving books at these events which children can keep.
“These books are a wonderful donation. They’re of such quality that I’m sure we couldn’t afford them (if the Salvation Army had to pay),” LaTaille said.
The donations by Link to Libraries and the Moran family continue a Toy for Joy literacy tradition that spans 15 years. The gifts were well-timed; earlier in her search, LaTaille said many available books were not necessarily of the content that children would want to read and enjoy.
The Toy for Joy book gift by Link to Libraries was made possible by a donation from MGM Springfield, Anderlonis said.
Volunteers have been unpacking and preparing gift packages for families who have registered in advance with the campaign. LaTaille says the need has been as great or greater than ever before.
Toy for Joy is sponsored collaboratively by the Salvation Army, The Republican, Reminders Publishing, El Pueblo Latino and MassLive.
