HAMPSTEAD — The Hampstead Police Department this year collected a record number of Toys for Tots donations from families and businesses.
Police Chief Bob Kelley estimates that the donations, which filled 82 boxes and included 35 bicycles, exceeded $40,000 worth of “Christmas Joy.” Last year, the department filled 48 boxes, he said.
“Every year we seem to increase the donations,” Kelley said. “I think between social media and just the type of people that are in the greater Hampstead community, they really stepped up.”
Though some families and businesses wished to remain anonymous, the department received public donations from M&T Bank, AJ Pro Green Insulation, the NCAB Group, Thunderline Z, Hannafords, RJF Motors, Breathe Crossfit, and many more, both in Hampstead and surrounding towns like Derry, Plaistow, Sandown, Salem and Derry.
“This has become something everyone at the police department thoroughly enjoys being a part of,” Kelley said. “We’re like little kids; we get so excited when people make donations. It really puts a smile on our faces and it’s a really nice thing to be part of.”
Since Thanksgiving, Kelley said it’s been a revolving door at the Police Department of people coming and going with donations for the program and other treats for the officers.
The donations were picked up by members of the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program last week and brought to the program’s main warehouse where they were sorted by age and gender, and distributed to families in need, explained Campaign Coordinator and Staff Sergeant Remy Waldner.
“They collected over 4,000 toys and then some. They fare very well for such a small area,” Waldner said. “It’s a testament to the officers and first responders in the community in Hampstead that they came together and they made Toys for Tots a priority for their area.”
Most towns in the Southern New Hampshire region have agencies, like the Hampstead Police Department and other communal entities like churches and schools, that collect toys on behalf of the program. Any family can go to the local agency in their town to put in a request for them to receive donations.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to help as many families as we possibly can but it starts with the help of the communities,” Waldner said. “But it’s agencies and nonprofits that are taking in all of those families and putting in requests for them.”
However, the program relies on holdovers from the previous year to sustain it at the beginning of each season, Waldner said, especially with toys specific to children aged 3 through 9. With monetary donations made to the program, campaign coordinators will often purchase toys for age groups that aren’t as popular, like children aged 13 through 17.
“This year with the toy drives and donations, we’ve done very well in fulfilling all orders. Every toy matters and every toy counts,” Waldner said.
To support Toys for Tots or put in a request for donations, Waldner urges individuals and families in need to find agencies in town collecting toys or fielding requests. Though the donation season is coming to a close and the holidays quickly approaching, some local areas are still collecting toys through this week.