In 2012, our first year, we helped 280 children.
Ten years later, we helped 305 South Portland students.
In 2023, that number grew to 470
The South Portland Holiday Toy Drive was born in 2012. Liz Darling’s company liked to assist staff and their families during the holidays. That year, however, one of their employees was really struggling.
In October, Liz called around to every charitable organization she could find to try and get him additional help. There was none to be found, as the deadlines had passed or the resources were spoken for. She thought, “If he is having trouble getting help, how many other families are experiencing the same thing?”
At the same time, Cindy Billingsley from Eveyln’s Tavern was collecting toys from her patrons. She had planned to donate them to the police and school department. However, while they recognized the increased need in the community for this type of assistance, neither had the capacity to receive and distribute toys on their own.
Liz and Cindy decided to team up with the police and school departments to handle the logistics, and the Toy Drive was born! After two successful years of toy distribution, the organization was asked to also help with winter clothing, and that’s when it started to more closely resemble the operation today!
Fast forward to 2022. Liz and Cindy stepped down, and Laurel LaBauve, April Cohen, and Jennifer Christensen took over. In 2023, the South Portland Holiday Toy Drive officially became a Maine nonprofit organization.
The South Portland Holiday Toy Drive only works because of our wonderful community partners. It takes a village, and we are thankful for ours!