Calling All Perkiomen Valley Santas

Portions of this story are from the Patch article "":

For years, the Jerusalem Community Food Pantry -- at Schwenksville's -- has benefited from the kindness of strangers when it comes to donations. This Christmas, however, it needs a few more heroes as it strives to bring a brighter holiday to area families.

A corporate sponsor has reportedly withdrawn an offer to help provide toys for the annual drive benefitting the children of the hundreds of families who receive food from the Pantry. According to a 2010 interview with co-manager Loretta Stever, about 500 families from the area qualify for assistance from the Pantry, but a bit more than 150 families per month come for help. That number increases during December, when about 20-30 families come in per night. About 90 percent of the qualifying families are from the Perkiomen Valley School District.

New, unwrapped items—"At Christmas, every child deserves something new," Stever said—for children from birth to 17 years old will be collected Monday through Saturday each week leading up to Christmas.

During the toy drive, people coming to the Pantry for food are given tickets that correspond with the number of children their respective families, and they are able to come back and personally select presents from among the donations. Stever said that being able to shop for their children is the best part for the families.

"It gives them the dignity and the excitement to be able to pick something more tailored to their child and their specific families' needs," Stever said.

When asked how people in the community can best select gifts for children they've never met, Stever suggests picking an age of a child, and then purchasing what a friend or relative of the same age would enjoy. Possible presents include Fisher Price toys, Legos and K'NEX for younger children, and handheld electronic games, CDs, oversized hoodies, makeup kits and jewelry for teens, Stever said, adding,

"We would gratefully accept any new toy."

With the dire straits some of the Pantry's families are in, Stever said parents express overwhelming gratitude for the donations.

"When they go in and see all the different things they can pick from, they are in awe that people in their community care enough about them. It really gives them encouragement that people they don't even know care enough to make their holidays brighter, or give food.

Some people "leave in tears," Stever said, sharing the words of one man who came to do some Christmas "shopping":

"'You have no idea how much it means, when you are as down as far as we are right now, and as hopeless as it seems, to know that my community cares this much about me. People I don't even know would buy a toy for my child.'"

To donate: Toys can be dropped off inside the glass doors of the Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Monday through Friday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Food Pantry will also accept donations during hours of operation Thursdays, from 6-8 p.m., and Saturdays, 9-11 a.m.