SAUGUS — The Lions Club on Saturday provided a spark to the Fire Department’s annual toy drive, which seeks to gather donations for less fortunate families living in town.
For the third year in a row in 2022, the Lions hosted a toy drive seeking to bolster the drive hosted by Saugus Fire. The event, which took place at the Senior Center, drew a variety of donations, including dolls, toy trucks, and a Mr. Potato Head, and volunteers, who each donned white baseball caps that read “Saugus Lions Club” used a giant stuffed teddy bear to attempt to lure passing motorists.
Michele Wendell, who helps organize the drive for the fire department each year, said the origins of the toy drive date back decades, with Ret. Capt. Bill O’Malley serving as the spearhead for the effort.
“What we do is we collect whether it be toys or gift cards because some of the unfortunate are older and don’t require toys anymore,” Wendell said, explaining that donations are accepted inside town hall (where a giant box wrapped to look like a Christmas present greets entrants) as well as at the town’s two fire stations.
Donations are accepted until Dec. 14, at which point O’Malley will collect the toys and distribute them to parents of students selected to receive toys. Wendell said the fire department works with Saugus schools to identify students in need.
The students, Wendell said, never learn where the toys come from with O’Malley dropping gifts off while school is still in session to maintain the surprise.
“The kids do not know where they come … we stay anonymous to them,” she said.
Wendell said the drive has gone “extremely well” in past years, with enough donations pouring in to exceed the needs of students, leading the department to drop off toys with local orphanages.
Ultimately, she said, the goal of the toy drive is to help those who “can’t afford to get their children gifts.”
“We supply the gifts for them,” Wendell said.
