Every year as the holiday season approaches, the Waldoboro town office grows steadily more crowded with boxes of donated children’s toys, boots, and coats set for distribution to families in need.
This year, the assortment of gifts accumulating in the office is expanding, as the town reshapes its giving philosophy to better meet what Town Manager Julie Keizer, who oversees the program, said is a measurably growing need.
“It’s so much more than a toy program,” Keizer said Tuesday, Nov. 12. “What we found over the years was that there is a need for more than toys, and actually a lot of what we were getting requests for are more necessities – sheets, blankets, diapers, clothing.”
What was traditionally referred to as the Waldoboro Toy Program has, for at least 20 years, provided local children in need with toys, boots, and warm outerwear, Keizer said. This year, in order to better meet the needs of local children, the program will shift its focus to essential items, including sheets, blankets, pajamas, and more, while continuing to provide the traditional toys and warm outerwear.
“It’s the small things,” she said, that can make a big difference for families in need.
The shift, Keizer said, comes as the level of need among families in Waldoboro has grown in recent years, as evidenced by increased participation in both the holiday children’s gift program and Thanksgiving food baskets.
With the deadline for families to sign up for the holiday gift program just passed on Friday, Nov. 8, participation is about equal to last year despite the new addition of a required “statement of need,” Keizer said. In 2023, the program served 133 children by the end of the season, according to records, an increase of about 150% compared to the 53 children served during the 2019 holiday season.
To reflect the new focus on necessities, the Waldoboro Select Board authorized a name change for the program in August, renaming the initiative as the Waldoboro Children’s Christmas and Winter Program. Participating children will receive two toys, a coat, a pair of boots, a hat, mittens, underwear, pajamas, a warm outfit, a book, and a game that their whole family can play together.
Keizer said the town office was also seeking local “adventures,” like tickets to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens or Owls Head Transportation Museum, to provide valuable experiences to children and families who may not otherwise have the means to access them.
“You never know. It could be the next engineer that goes to Owls Head and says, ‘Oh, I want to learn how to build a plane.’ You never know,” she said.
Since the program’s inception, it has been funded and stocked entirely by donations, Keizer said. The town has met its fundraising and gift-gathering goals on a yearly basis – a tradition Keizer hopes to continue this year, even as the range of items needed continues to grow.
“I think it means something when you donate locally and you know it’s going to your neighbors,” Keizer said.
Running the program, she added, is a tradition the whole town office looks forward to.
“It’s not something typical that your town office does,” she said. “…But public works, EMS, the police department, the office staff – we all get into it.”
For many, the program provides a welcome opportunity to get to know residents and help families in a novel way.
“You don’t know what somebody else has been through, and this just helps,” Keizer said.
The town office team plans to gather all donations by the deadline of Tuesday, Dec. 10, according to Keizer. A registry of wished-for items from local children is available at bit.ly/waldoboro-gifts, and those who wish to donate money to the cause can do so at the town office.
“I think it is what the true meaning of the holidays is. It’s not about what you get, it’s what you give,” Keizer said. “We’re giving our time and energy, and our residents who contribute to this monetarily or by buying gifts or clothing or whatever they’re doing, they get a lot out of it, too. I think it’s really important.”
