Stacks of Barbie dolls,
stuffed animals, board games and other childhood
toys fill up an otherwise empty office building on
Main Street. Three women separate the items by age
of the children who would enjoy them.
Loretta Peres, Eileen Ryan and Kathy Stewart, all
of Patriots Circle in Gloucester, spend as much time
as they can in the unheated room organizing and
packaging toys for Action Inc.'s Project Uplift, a
toy drive designed to provide toys for children who
might not receive Christmas gifts.
"Once we start moving and organizing the toys, we
don't feel the cold as much and start to warm up,"
Peres said Saturday.
The three women said they work up to 10 hours a
day in the room during the three weeks before
Christmas to make sure everyone who applied for the
program receives toys. By the end of the operation,
they might have put in 120 to 200 hours, they said.
This is the 15th year Project Uplift has been in
operation, said Scott Thorndike, staff assistant to
William Rochford, executive director of Action.
Through the program, low-income families apply
for the toy drive, listing the names and ages of
their children, and residents donate gifts at local
drop-off points throughout Cape Ann.
Then, Peres, Ryan and Stewart get to work as toys
come into the office. The three sort through the
gifts, then go through each application one by one
and pick out toys for each family.
Once gifts are divvied up, the volunteers tell
Thorndike about which applications are completed and
he calls the families to say they can pick up the
gifts.
Thorndike said the project started when the
company noticed needy families spent all their money
to ensure their children had a merry Christmas. But
in February, the parents went to Action looking for
financial assistance. Thorndike said the name arose
when one of the board members said the program was
"certainly an uplifting project for the community."
Peres said she started volunteering her time to
the program three years ago, when as a board member
for Action, she visited the collection site and
sorted toys to appropriate age groups. The college
students volunteering needed some help.
She said she was told "this project could really
use a woman's touch," and she has been volunteering
ever since. Ryan and Stewart joined Peres last year.
The three women have received financial
assistance through the company earlier in their
lives, and they said this is a great way to give
back to Cape Ann.
"Everyone falls on hard times at some point in
their lives, and then things come full-circle," Ryan
said. "It's important for the children's self-esteem
to have a merry Christmas. For me, this is a great
way to give back to the community that helped me out
in my time of need."
Now, the women spend their days listening to
music, chatting and joking around while sorting the
gifts. They try to get as much done in a day before
heading home to their families for supper.
While sorting through the dolls Saturday, Peres
picked up one with pigtails and said, smiling, "this
looks like me when I had long hair."
Peres said the community is generous to support
the project.
Of the 171 applications last year, every order
was filled, helping 365 children get the Christmas
they deserved.
The women said the greatest part is seeing the
appreciation and relief on parents' faces when they
come to pick up presents.
"Last year, a single father almost started to
cry," Ryan said. "He told us his children just came
back to live with him, and the tears started up when
we told him he could pick out the toys himself for
stocking stuffers."
Team effort
Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and North Shore
104.9 will have a live broadcast 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Friday as they collect donated toys. Tarr will enter
Cape Ann at 1 p.m., when he will reach Woodman's in
Essex. Then, he'll move to Tuck's Candy in Rockport
at 3 p.m. and finish off his day at the former
Empire Clothing Store at 5 p.m.
Distribution sites
Donations can be dropped off at the Action Inc.
administrative office, 5 Pleasant St., during normal
business hours, preferably between 1 and 4 p.m. If
you wish to donate a large number of toys, clothing
or money, Action appreciates calls ahead of time at
(978) 283-7874 to arrange for delivery or pick-up
services. Donation drop-off sites are also listed
below:
Gloucester
Gloucester Senior Center
Banknorth
Gloucester Co-operative Bank
Citizens Bank
Cape Ann Savings Bank
Fun Among Us
First National Bank of Ipswich
CVS - Thatcher Road
Adelphia Cable
Gloucester City Hall
Atlantic Family Chiropractic
Rockport
Curves International
Tuck's Candy
Town Hall
Police Station
Essex
First National Bank of Ipswich
Woodman's
Sea Meadow Designs
Highwave Hair Design
Richdales
Puna's Country Store
Lil' Sprouts of Essex
Silly Goose Toy Store
Banknorth
Dr. Lynne Drizen's office
Town Hall
Police Department
Thop Burnham Library
Manchester
Town Hall
Cricket Press
Zak's
Sovereign Bank
Meet the volunteers
Name: Loretta Peres
Age: 45
Years on Cape Ann: 15
What's the most gratifying part of this
project? "The 'thank you, thank you, thank yous'
people who come and pick up the toys say is the most
rewarding thing."
Name: Eileen Ryan
Age: 42
Years on Cape Ann: Grew up on Cape Ann,
moved back in 1997
What's the most gratifying part of this
project? "The appreciation and relief on the
parents' faces."
Name: Kathy Stewart
Age: 52
Years on Cape Ann: 35
What's the most gratifying part of this
project? "Making the children happy."
