HAWC seeks holiday store donations

SALEM – It’s not your typical store, but those shopping are not your typical consumer.Help for Abused Women and their Children (HAWC), a Salem-based organization that provides emergency shelter and counseling services to victims of domestic violence, will again run its holiday store.HAWC clients can pick out free gifts for their children, just as they have done for the past 15 years, according to spokesman Alicia Black.To ensure the program continues successfully, HAWC is seeking donations of new items as the holiday season gets underway. The store will be located in the HAWC administrative offices at 27 Congress St. in Salem.A wish list is available online at www.helpabusedwomen.org. Suggestions include educational toys, books, DVDs, video games, electronics, sports equipment, dolls, Lincoln Logs or Legos, and bath and body products. Gift cards to department stores such as Target, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Old Navy, Gap, and Barnes & Noble, as well as to area movie theaters, are also welcome.All items should be new and unwrapped, but HAWC gladly accepts wrapping supplies, Black said.”We serve our clients first. They would work through their advocates and make an appointment to come to the store,” she said. “Generally we give toys to the children since the teenagers have different needs, and there’s also a table for the adults.”Approximately 600 people took advantage of the holiday store last year, according to Black.HAWC will accept donations through Dec. 14 at its main office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To schedule a drop off for large donations, call Black at 978-744-2299, ext. 27.HAWC provides prevention and free, comprehensive services to victims of violence and their children in 23 cities and towns across the North Shore. A United Way Affiliate, the organization’s services include a 24-hour hotline; emergency shelter; children’s services; advocacy in courts, police departments and health care settings; educational and support groups; counseling; and education in schools and the community.The HAWC hotline is 978-744-6841. For more information, call the office at 978-744-8552 or go online to www.helpabusedwomen.org.