by Davy James, Staff Writer
With the malls flooded with shoppers and credit card bills skyrocketing in a seasonal buying frenzy, there are some whose holiday wishes could’ve gone unfulfilled.
But thanks to the Toys for Tots program and the efforts of the Spirituality Committee at the St. Augustine of Canterbury School, some South Brunswick children in need will be getting a needed dose of holiday cheer.
The Spirituality Committee’s second Annual Toy Drive is assisting the Girl Scouts of America in collecting unwrapped new toys to distribute to the less fortunate children in the community.
”The response so far has been outstanding,” said Ana Woodrow, the Spirituality Committee chairperson. “We’ve received close to 100 toys so far.”
The school has been collecting toys since Nov. 11 and now has more than enough.
”In the beginning, we were hoping to provide enough toys for about 80 children,” Ms. Woodrow said. “Thanks to the success of the drive, we now have enough toys for 100 children.”
The drive finished on Dec. 10. The toys will be given to the Girl Scouts of America and Toys for Tots program to distribute to less fortunate children throughout South Brunswick. The extra toys will be distributed at the discretion of the Girls Scouts and the Toys for Tots program.
The Girl Scouts were contacted by the particular families and will distribute the toys based on what the family needs, said Ms. Woodrow.
”The toys have been sent to the Girl Scouts who will wrap them and begin giving them out soon.”
All of the donated toys came from the school’s students and their families, according to Mrs. Woodrow. Some of the donated toys include board games, stuffed animals and remote-control cars.
The Toys for Tots program is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year. In 2006, more than 19.2 million toys were delivered to over 7.6 million children, according to the program’s Web site.
In addition to the toy drive, the Spirituality Committee also works with the Franklin Care Center to spread holiday cheer to local senior citizens.
”We bring the kids over to the center and they bring holiday cards and arts and crafts to give to the seniors living at the center,” Ms. Woodrow said. “We try to do anything we can to bring holiday cheer to the community, especially to those in need.”

