GREENFIELD — Two local toy drives and the Franklin County Fairgrounds are being helped by donations from the New England Van Council, the group that has organized van shows at the fairgrounds for the past two summers.
On Sunday, Van Council member Dave Desaulniers met with Greenfield Salvation Army representatives and several Greenfield Police officers to hand off a truckload of toys that his organization collected at its yearly collection party in West Warwick, R.I.
The toys are going to the Greenfield Salvation Army’s yearly toy drive, Toy for Joy, which serves all of Franklin County. This is the second year that the Van Council has worked with the Greenfield Police Department to donate holiday toys to the Salvation Army. Officers who were at the handoff on Sunday remarked that this year’s haul is noticeably bigger than last year’s.
That’s a good thing, because the Salvation Army expects this year’s demand to be higher than last year’s, based on registration so far, said Brenda Arroyo, a Salvation Army social service caseworker.
Last year, the Salvation Army distributed toys to about 210 families in Franklin County, Arroyo said. This year, 120 families have signed up so far, and Arroyo expects at least 50 more this week. The toy distribution is Dec. 19.
The Salvation Army has not had to turn any families away due to lack of resources, Arroyo said. Last year cut it very close, but was helped by donations coordinated by Greenfield Police, she said.
The Salvation Army’s toy drive serves families with children up to age 12. Right now, the toys collected on Sunday are piled in a barn at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. This week, Salvation Army workers will organize them by the age and gender of children to whom they could be distributed, Arroyo said.
The New England Van Council also donated $1,340 for Giving Back Together, a local toy drive that serves Greenfield, Turners Falls and the surrounding areas, and which the Greenfield Police and Fire departments are helping with this year. Now in its sixth year, the toy drive is expanding to Athol for the first time.
Giving Back Together is a bit short on staff, so the Greenfield departments are helping with buying toys, according to Officer Christopher Rowell.
“This is a true community effort,” he said.
The last donation from the Van Council was $5,000 to help fix the fairgrounds’ mudslide problem. In recent years, fair organizers have found that the northeast side of the fairgrounds, above Linwood Street, is eroding, and could become a liability for the fair.
Earlier this year, the Franklin County Agricultural Society started collecting money to fix the problem. The estimated cost is $500,000, with about $15,000 having been raised so far.
The agricultural society is running a GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/f/fcfair. It is also accepting donations at: FCAS, P.O. Box 564, Greenfield, MA 01302-0564. Write “mudslide fundraiser” on the memo line.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 261.