PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — Some Putnam County parents are now worrying whether they’ll be able to have Christmas gifts for their kids.
Toys for Tots’ website says Putnam is one of five counties in Florida not covered for toy donations and distribution this year.
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That means there isn’t an organized local resource to collect and give away toys to kids in need. For parents like Paige Chase-Novak, it’s bringing back troubling memories of holiday season stress.
“Christmas has been stressful for me in the past, it caused depression, it was a lot, mentally,” Chase-Novak said.
She remembers barely getting by during the holidays when she was a single mom in her 20s. Chase-Novak, in those times, used to rely on organizations like Toys for Tots to lend a helping hand when she didn’t know what to do at Christmastime.
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But now, she’s watching other families go through the same struggle she did, without the help.
“Not having [Toys for Tots] means a lot of families are in panic that they’re not going to have anything under the tree for their kids at all,” Chase-Novak said.
Toys for Tots says applications to become a local coordinator, someone to collect and distribute toys on behalf of a designated county, can be turned in every year between January 16 - June 30. But Chase-Novak said Putnam County missed its window.
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“So no toys are going to families and no organizations that rely on them year to year are getting them either,” Chase-Novak said.
Chase-Novak is now working with local nonprofits, like the Kiwanis Club of Palatka, and community-created groups, like Caring Hands in Putnam County, to meet the need Toys for Tots can’t fill this year.
There are now 10 donation boxes set up around the county to collect toys, at these locations:
- Nanna’s Country Cafe in Interlachen
- Jho Jho’s Diner in Palatka
- 207 Diner in East Palatka
- Palatka Golf Club
- St. Johns Urgent Care in Palatka
- O’Reilly Auto Parts in Palatka
- 386 Nutrition
- Riverfront Nutrition
- Interlachen Nutrition
- Eugene and Sons Tire & Auto in Palatka
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The window to apply for toys has now closed, but Chase-Novak said a total of 232 applications were turned in to help 559 kids in Putnam County get presents under their trees this year.
She said a lot of help is going to be needed between now and Christmas to make sure those kids are able to get toys.
“We are massively overloaded right now because we went from around 120 kids last year to looking like 500,” Chase-Novak said.
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She’s hoping to apply, herself, to bring Toys for Tots back to Putnam County next year, but said the community’s work will have to do for now.
“That’s what’s in my heart and what I’m praying for, that every child will have a toy and every application will be fulfilled,” Chase-Novak said.
If you’d like to donate or become a volunteer to help the families in Putnam County, you can do so by visiting the Kiwanis Club of Palatka at the link here or by visiting the Caring Hands in Putnam County group here.
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