East End House Makes the Holidays a Little Brighter for Over 500 Children

The East End House annual Holiday Toy Drive was held December 15th and 16th. Toys were distributed to 236 families and over 500 children ages 0-14. The Toy Drive gave children whose families struggle to meet basic needs not only toys, but also warm hats, mittens, scarves and coats for the winter.

Volunteers wrapped all the presents, adding to the general spirit of holiday cheer. The agency also organized an Adopt-a-Family Program. Through this program, donors ensured that families had everything they needed for a joyous holiday season. “Organizing a toy drive that serves over 500 children is a huge undertaking that requires a lot of support from volunteers, donors, friends and staff of East End House. But, all our efforts are rewarded when families can’t thank us enough for making their holiday brighter and merrier!” commented Camille Platt, East End House’s Child Care Director.

East End House’s holiday programs would not be possible without support from local donors and volunteers. Donors and volunteers came from various businesses and individuals in the community, including the Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Americo J. Francisco Charitable Trust, Appleton Partners, Inc., Arrowstreet, Bay State Federal Savings Charitable Foundation, Beacon High School, Biogen Idec, Boston Properties, Brandeis University, Building Impact, Cambridge Public Schools, Cambridge Savings Bank, Cigna Health Care, Cleveland Design, Covidien, East Cambridge Savings Bank, Emmie’s Daycare, Equity Office, Exxcel Gymnastics, Foley Fiore Architecture, Foundation Medicine, Garfield Group, GenOn Energy, Inc., Genzyme Corporation, Harvard University, Hungry Fish Media, The HYM Investment Group, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, the New Confidence Group, Mathematica Policy Research, Middlesex County Juvenile Court, MIT, MIT Panhellenic Association, Monster, New Track Media, Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research, Pilgrim Congregational Church, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Quintiles, Residence Inn Boston Cambridge, River Gods, Robert Half International, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Technology Children’s Centers, Tier One Partners, Transatlantic Investment Management, Inc., Waggener Edstrom, and Watermark/Gables Residential. Thank you to all the businesses and individuals who contributed.