Giving out toys is the ‘work of God’

BY BILL DOYLE
CFP CORRESPONDENT

Maritza Cedeno knows which toys are the most popular at Christmas.
She oversees the distribution of more than 3,000 Christmas toys to 1,500 children by Catholic Charities of Worcester County. So she easily rattled off that Barbie dolls, baby dolls, remote control cars and wireless headphones are hot items this year.
Catholic Charities distributes the toys from its regional offices in Worcester, Leominster, Milford and Southbridge. The Worcester office alone gives toys to more than 700 children.     .
“It’s amazing to see what every office can bring,” Ms. Cedeno said. “They bring a little uniqueness to it, but the main thing is to give hope to families.”
Boys and girls through age 14 receive two or threetoys and, Ms. Cedeno said, older children with disabilities may get them as well.
For some children, the toys from Catholic Charities will be the only ones they’ll receive this Christmas.
“It’s great,” Ms. Cedeno said. “It’s the work of God and it’s magical.”
The Worcester and Southbridge offices receive toys from the Telegram & Gazette Santa, the Milford office gets them from the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program in Worcester and the Leominster office relies on the local parishes to donate toys through Giving Tree programs. Parishioners select tags with a request for a specific toy or clothing item from a Giving Tree at their church, purchase it and return it to the church for distribution.
Ms. Cedeno said she’d like to expand the Giving Tree program to include parishes near the other three offices. Ms. Cedeno has coordinated the toy distribution in the Leominster office since 2007 and this year she began overseeing the distribution in all four offices. As Director of Emergency Services for Catholic Charities, she also works with case management, the food pantry, and diaper and clothing drives.
A lot of people volunteer to help with distributing toys. On Dec. 8, there were 35 volunteers bagging toys in the Worcester office.
People pick up the toys at the four offices at an assigned day and time through Dec. 21, but requests after the deadline are placed on a waiting list and granted on a case by case basis.
“We always keep it open because you never know what will happen,” Ms. Cedeno said. “Every day can change for somebody. You can have it all one day and another day you might not, and people might need help. God always provides.”
Ms. Cedeno’s husband, Frederick John, and children, Ariana, 19, Adriel, 18, and Lilliana, 10, help bag gifts to be distributed in their hometown of Leominster.
“It’s a whole family affair,” Ms. Cedeno said.
She considers helping others enjoy a better Christmas to be a gift.
“I’m blessed,” she said. “It’s a fulfillment because you helped thousands of families in this time. The big thing is you give them hope because it’s not all about the toys. It’s about the birth of Jesus.”