GOLD COAST — Margarita Miranda, a mother of two and vice chair of the parent advisory council, and her daughter walked into the North Dearborn Association’s Joy of Toys event Dec. 5 with a white and red Santa sack stuffed with toys.
Miranda said both of her children attended the George Manierre School and Catherine Ferguson Child Parent Center and received gifts from the Joy of Toys, so she wanted to give back, too. Margarita’s daughter said “it felt nice” to receive early Christmas gifts at school.
“It’s a great way to give back to the community,” Miranda said. “Some parents cannot afford to give gifts to the children for Christmas. It’s also a help for the single mom’s that are barely making ends meet.”
The NDA has organized its annual Joy of Toys event to collect gifts for the children attending George Manierre School and Catherine Ferguson Child Parent Center, and since 1993, the toy drive has distributed more than 6,600 Chicago-area children with a gift during the holidays. Residents packed Mario’s Table, 21 W. Goethe St., for the 22nd annual Joy of Toys, during which residents gather to wrap children’s presents and enjoy food and drinks with family members and neighbors. More than 200 students will receive their gifts prior to Christmas break.
Prior to the Joy of Toys, the NDA gathered gifts for the Chicago Police Department’s 18th District to distribute to needy children, but later decided to give back to needy students in the neighborhood, said Carol Truesdell, NDA director emeritus.
“I think our neighborhood feels that it’s privileged, and we want to follow that axiom of ‘to whom much is given, much is expected,’” Truesdell said. “We have a very generous community. And if we give them an opportunity or an idea, they respond wholeheartedly.”
Every year, the NDA comes to the school to distribute toys to children ages 3 to 10 years old with the help of “Santa Claus,” Truesdell said. The children are excited to get simple gifts like hats and gloves as gifts as well as toys, she said.
“I remember one little girl a few years back, she was so excited for her gift,” Truesdell said, referring to a girl who read to her to show her appreciation. “She was so proud that she had learned to read. We went out and sat on a window ledge, and she read me a book.”
Many of her students resided in the subsidized housing near the school and come from low income backgrounds, said Mary DuBois, an instructor who has taught at the school since 1990.
DuBois said seeing the students receive Christmas presents is “the best Christmas present ever.”
“It doesn’t take much to make these kids happy,” DuBois said. “It’s the best feeling there is.”
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