Heather Taylor might not look like an elf, but she works tirelessly to ensure no child or teenager in Franklin County or the North Quabbin region wakes up on Christmas morning without a present.
The Athol resident started the Giving Back Together Toy Drive in 2013 and she is appealing to the public for support as the toy drive and nonprofit of the same name enter their ninth holiday season. The drive provided brand-new gifts for fewer than 20 children in the Greenfield area its first year, and that number jumped to at least 880 in 2021.
“And we are projecting more than that this year,” Taylor said, citing rising inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic’s ongoing effects.
Toy drop-off spots are located in Greenfield at Sandri Energy, and Ford and Toyota of Greenfield, as well as in Athol at the North Quabbin Community Coalition. People can deliver new gifts to Sandri from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday; to Ford and Toyota of Greenfield from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday; and to the North Quabbin Community Coalition from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. There are also totes available any time, day or night, on the porch at 86 Aster Court in Greenfield, 77 Second St. in Turners Falls, and 10 Mechanic St. in Shelburne Falls.
Monetary donations can be sent to M&T Bank, 45 Federal St., Greenfield, MA 01301: Attn: Giving Back Together Toy Drive. Toys will be distributed from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Faith Church at 331 Silver St. in Greenfield on Dec. 17. Parents or guardians are asked to bring a birth certificate for their children. Taylor asks that no one bring kids to the distribution. This is a first-come, first-served event.
“It’s really important for me, as a member of the community, to provide for our community,” Taylor said.
An Amazon list of ideas for gifts for teenagers is available at: amzn.to/3gGkwqJ.
Taylor, 38, was inspired to start the Giving Back Together Toy Drive as a result of her childhood and later battle with addiction.
“Early on in my recovery I really was struggling with the fact that it was possible children were going to wake up Christmas morning without presents, and that was what I experienced as a child,” she said this week, now 12½ years in recovery. “I didn’t want any other child to have to experience what I experienced.”
Taylor explained she grew up in Spencer and her parents struggled with addiction themselves when she and her siblings were growing up.
“So as a direct result of my parents’ addiction, there was no Christmas, more than once,” she said, adding that the most difficult aspect was explaining the situation to her brother and sister. She also mentioned buying Christmas presents for her children was not a priority when she grappled with active addiction.
Taylor said that over the past five weeks she has reached out to 300 local businesses between Athol and Ashfield, and she has heard back from only four — Ford and Toyota of Greenfield, Greenfield Savings Bank, a local dispensary and the Ocean State Job Lot in Athol. She said she hopes area companies will soon contact her to help in any way possible.
Taylor can be reached at 413-834-3893 or givingbacktogether@yahoo.com. The Giving Back Together Toy Drive also has a Facebook page.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.