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Community Corner

Make the Holidays Brighter by Donating to These Collections

While you are out shopping for family and friends, remember those less fortunate.

We see them at churches, schools, banks and more—toy and food collections to help those less fortunate at holiday time. Not sure where to go to spread a bit of cheer? Here are just some of the local collections occurring throughout the Caldwells and beyond.

Toys

  • Through Toys for Tots, toys will be delivered to the U.S. Marines at the central warehouses of the Picatinny Arsenal in Dover. Toys are sorted by age and gender. At Christmas, coordinators, with the assistance of local social welfare agencies, church groups, and other local community agencies, distribute the toys to the less fortunate children of the community. Over the years, Marines have established close working relationships with social welfare agencies, churches and other local community agencies qualified to identify the needy children in the community. The following locations are collecting new, unwrapped toys for distribution through Toys for Tots: 

- Absolute Health Chiropractic, 1129 Bloomfield Ave., West Caldwell – Now through Dec. 20. Call 973-439-6969 or e-mail absolutehealthchiro@gmail.com for more information.
- Cartridge Actuated Devices, Inc. (CAD), 51 Dwight Place, Fairfield – Now through Dec. 19. Call 973-575-1312 or e-mail Elizabeth.Stichling@cartactdev.com for more information.
Century 21 – Cedar Crest Realty, 460 Bloomfield Ave., Caldwell – Now through Dec. 20. Contact pezz1951@hotmail.com for more information.
Essex County College, Bloomfield Ave., West Caldwell – Now through Dec. 19. Call 973-877-6637 or e-mail jot@essex.edu for more information.
- Funtime Junction, 400 Fairfield Road, Fairfield – Now through Dec. 18. Call 973-882-9777 or e-mail funtimejunction@gmail.com for more information. 
- Sky Club Spa and Fitness, 750 Bloomfield Ave., West Caldwell – Now through Dec. 20. Call 973-809-6867 or e-mail dualn07@gmail.com for more information.
- Solution Managers, Int’l, Fairfield – Now through Dec. 19. Call 973-244-0555 ext 123 or e-mail jbrady@solutionmanagers.com for more information.
- Titan Outdoor, 55 Dwight Place, Fairfield – Now through Dec. 16. Call 973-244-4965 or e-mail christina.loizides@titan360.com for more information.
- UBM Canon (Canon Communications), 30 Two Bridges Rd., Fairfield. Call 973-808-8847 or e-mail joanna.siddiqui@ubm.com for more information.

Find out what's happening in Caldwellswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Caldwell Community Center Giving Tree—Now through Dec. 16
    There are still a few tags left on the Caldwell Community Center’s Giving Tree. Select one of the few remaining tags and bring the unwrapped item(s) back to the Center. Items are being distributed to local families in need.  
  • Holiday Lights Spectacular at Turtle Back Zoo
    The zoo is collecting non-perishable food and unwrapped toys each evening of the holiday lights. Bring a toy or food donation and admission is free! Sponsored by Covanta, Essex County Parks Foundation, McLoone’s Boathouse, Prudential Financial, PSE&G and the Zoological Society of N.J., the event runs each night between now and Dec. 24, and Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, from 5 to 9 p.m.
  • Boy Scouts of Troop 6 at the North Caldwell Fire Department—Dec. 15, 7:30 to 9 p.m.
    The Boy Scouts of Troop 6, Caldwell, will be at the North Caldwell Fire Dept. to collect new, unwrapped toys and non-perishable food to donate to several local agencies.
  • Jefferson Elementary School, West Caldwell – Now through Dec. 22
    The students of Jefferson School are working with James Caldwell High School football coach, Ken Trimmer, to collect toys and clothing for children ages infant through 16, gently used, clean and folded clothing, and gifts for men and women. The items will be donated to St. Rocco’s Homeless Shelter, Newark. Suggested items include perfume, cologne, aftershave, handkerchiefs, soaps, gift baskets, make-up kits, jewelry or other personal items. Items can be left in the collection boxes outside of the school’s main office.
  • St. Aloysius Roman Catholic ChurchDec. 18, 10 a.m. to noon
    As part of its Gathering in Bethlehem, on Sunday, Dec. 18, the church will collect new, unwrapped toys for distribution to local agencies and families. Toy donations can be brought to the church gym.
  • Giggles Children’s Theater – 2nd floor, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Paterson – Now through Dec. 31.
    Giggles Children’s Theater performs for critically ill children at the hospital, including musical and theatrical performances, games and virtual field trips. To donate toys to benefit the theater, visit the local Provident Bank at 161 Roseland Ave., Roseland.

Canned Goods

  • Holiday Lights Spectacular at Turtle Back Zoo – Now through Dec. 24, and Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, from 5 to 9 p.m.

The zoo is collecting non-perishable food and unwrapped toys each evening of the holiday lights. Bring a toy or food donation and admission is free!

Find out what's happening in Caldwellswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Boy Scouts of Troop 6 at the North Caldwell Fire Department – Dec. 15, 7:30 to 9 p.m. 

The Boy Scouts of Troop 6, Caldwell, will be at the North Caldwell Fire Dept. to collect new, unwrapped toys and non-perishable food to donate to several local agencies.

The Food Pantry collects and distributes food to any Caldwell or West Caldwell Resident who needs food. Drop off points and collections are throughout the Caldwells, including the Caldwell Community Center, Caldwell and West Caldwell Public Libraries, and more. For additional information, call 973-403-4623. Items particularly in need include juice boxes, individual snacks, sauces, cereals, oatmeal, crackers, canned fruit, tuna fish and mayonnaise and paper goods.

Coats

For the 16th Annual Coat Drive Jersey Cares hopes to collect and distribute more than 50,000 “gently used” winter coats to men, women and children in need throughout N.J. Over the past fifteen years, Jersey Cares has collected, sorted and distributed more than 350,000 coats to N.J. residents through its annual drive. Companies, churches, police stations, schools and other organizations set up sites across the state to collect coats. Coats are then delivered by collection site representatives to the nearest container site where volunteers sort and bag the coats for pick up. Various nonprofit organizations pick up coats and distribute them to those in need. For more information, email coatdrive@jerseycares.org, or call 973-424-1091.

Shoes

  • Little Shoebox of Upper Montclair, 602 Valley Road, Annual Shoe Drive – Now through Dec. 31

Little Shoebox partners with Soles4Souls each year throughout the month of December, collecting gently worn children’s shoes for distribution to children in need throughout the world. Donate shoes and receive a 10% discount (certain restrictions apply) off the purchase of a new pair of shoes. For more information, visit the website or call 973-744-3007.

Multiple Items

The school is collecting band-aids and gently used books to donate to Reach Out and Read, a nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. Donations can be brought to the school, and placed in the collection boxes outside of the main office.

Notre Dame Church is adopting families in need through the Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity (M.E.N.D.) program. The Help a Family at Christmas program enables an individual, a family, group of families, school or organization to reach out and adopt a family experiencing difficulty. Interested in helping with a family or adopting one of your own? Make a monetary contribution or receive a family profile to assist in purchasing gifts, toys and food certificates. For more information, call 973-228-5372 to receive a family profile or, offer a monetary contribution by making a check payable to M.E.N.D. Mail monetary donations to Anne Kunzier, 43 Evergreen Dr., N. Caldwell, N.J., 07006, by Dec. 17. All monies received go to satisfying family profiles. Those adopting individual families can drop off items at the church on Dec. 19.

Patch knows this list is not complete. Where else can you donate items and help those in need? Tell us in the comments.

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