Dressed in a fuzzy Grinch onesie, volunteer Trish Smith took a short nap surrounded by toys.
“Every year I dress up to try … to bring a lot of cheer to people,” Smith said. Her dog Leia snoozed nearby, dressed as the Grinch's dog Max.
All of the toys arranged on the tables above her would soon go home and fill the Christmas trees and stockings of families registered for the Diocese of Scranton’s Gifts for Kids program. Every year, Catholic Social Services hosts this giveaway in Carbondale and lets families “shop” for holiday gifts.
“I’ve been doing this for a very long time. I get to see the usual faces. This year though, we’ve seen different faces than we have ever before,” Smith said. “It brings me joy to give back. As a child I wasn’t as fortunate myself, so it’s something I can give back to the community.”
Jolette Lyons, director of Lackawanna County Catholic Social Services, checked families in on Tuesday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Carbondale. She said 279 families registered for the distribution day in Carbondale.
“Every parent wants to have a great Christmas for their child … so our ability to provide this service for several years now for the Upper Valley, it’s really important to us,” Lyons said. “We couldn’t do it without the donations that the community and the parishes provide to us.”
Increased interest accompanied by increased charity for holiday gift drive
Dominique Draper is the supervisor of relief services with Catholic Social Services. She says in this economic climate, she’s not surprised interest in the Gifts for Kids program has increased since last year.
“It’s hard enough to put food on your children’s table rather than get them toys for the holiday,” she said. “We’ve seen a bunch of families that we have not seen before with this increase coming in and really just needing that additional help to make Christmas happen.”
But as interest in the giveaway went up, Draper says donations increased as well. Catholic Social Services collect donated toys from parishes in the diocese on top of monetary donations through fundraising.
“The increase in toys and gifts we saw was insane,” she said. “Even the quality of the donations has really increased and it’s just been incredible to see.”
On Tuesday, those donations sat arranged by age group on white tables. When the afternoon pick-up session opened, a volunteer dressed as Santa Claus ushered families inside in small groups.
Volunteers showed each shopper around with a large bag and a clipboard noting how many children they were shopping for and what age ranges to focus on.
Justin Paduani searched for the perfect gifts for his 11-year-old twin boys, four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son.
“My kids are not ungrateful, so they’re happy with anything,” he said. “Just to be able to come here and do this for them, it’s a blessing for me.”
This was Paduani’s second year coming to Gifts for Kids in Carbondale. He said the giveaway helped him and his fiance make the Christmas holiday happen.
“They’re my best friends. I don’t have anybody else, I got them,” he said. “To be able to do this for them…it’s a big impact.”
Catholic Social Services, Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center will host another Gifts for Kids distribution for Scranton area families at the University of Scranton starting on Dec. 14.
Pre-registration is closed, but registered families can shop for gifts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day from Sunday until Wednesday, Dec. 17.
