Press Herald Toy Fund prepares for 77th year helping Maine families with holiday presents
Jeff Ham, operations manager of the Press Herald Toy Fund, carries boxes in the Toy Fund’s storage room in South Portland on Wednesday. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
SOUTH PORTLAND — The Press Herald Toy Fund is preparing for its 77th holiday season providing gifts to Maine families — and volunteers are again expecting an increase in requests for assistance.
“People are struggling,” said the nonprofit’s operations manager, Jeff Ham. “Every year that I’ve done this, we expect a big increase, and the increase is more than we expect.”
Since 1949, the Toy Fund has provided gifts — three age-appropriate gifts and a book each — to thousands of children up to age 16 in York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Androscoggin and Knox counties who otherwise might not receive any at the holidays.
The children who receive the gifts typically never know about the Toy Fund — or the strangers who donated their money or time to brighten their December.
Last season, the Toy Fund planned to provide gifts for 4,000 children. By season’s end, it had served more than 4,400 — about 700 more than in 2024. Ham doesn’t have a firm estimate for this year, but he’s confident it will be even higher.
“The more people we can help, the better,” Ham said.
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The Toy Fund offers assistance for both groups and individuals. Applications are open now at pressherald.com/toy-fund. Applications for groups close on Nov. 1, while applications for individuals close on Dec. 1.
Last year, many applicants said they were struggling to keep up with the rising cost of rent and groceries; other parents were struggling with homelessness or high medical bills.
“I pay for rent, utilities, groceries and all of the children’s needs by myself,” wrote a single mother from Cumberland County. “Everything is so expensive, and the prices just keep rising. I work full time with two part-time jobs and still live paycheck to paycheck. I would greatly appreciate the help, as I know my children would too.”
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Donate or apply for help from the Press Herald Toy Fund
Donations from readers pay for the presents. Last year, the Toy Fund raised roughly $235,000, up from $190,000 the year before. The Portland Press Herald and the Sun Journal in Lewiston will publish lists of donations along with stories about the Toy Fund from Thanksgiving through December.
“Through the pandemic and post, it’s been very high demand, and we’ve been budgeting for that,” said Toy Fund board President Karen Beaudoin.
In recent years, the Toy Fund has also reached out to corporate sponsors such as L.L.Bean, which for the second year in a row will offer up its Bootmobiles for gift deliveries to families in the Midcoast.
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“When people see two boots traveling up the highway, they’ll be delivering toys again this year,” Beaudoin said.
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Nearly 40 volunteers help the Toy Fund in their efforts, which include moving inventory, packing gift bags, and handing bags out to the families and groups that will show up to the Press Herald’s South Portland office in December for pickup.
“There’s a lot of energy in the room throughout the year,” said Ham. “This is the early season, but in December, when we have days when people come to pick up their gifts, there will be a line of cars sometimes all the way out the driveway, all the way out onto Gannett Drive, and we have half a dozen or more volunteers hustling bags of toys out to them. So that’s pretty fun.”
Volunteer Priscilla O’Neil remembers reading “heartwarming” stories about the Toy Fund in the paper while growing up — memories that inspired her to volunteer as an adult. Her favorite part is when the families come to pick up the gifts.
“You actually get to see the smiles on the parents’ faces, and the relief at being able to give the kids the Christmas they want to give them,” O’Neil said.
Press Herald Toy Fund volunteer Carol Semple marks boxes while organizing cartons of toys in the toy fund’s storage room in South Portland on Wednesday. The toy fund was started in 1949 and is celebrating its 77th year in 2026. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
Volunteer Carol Semple, who worked at the Press Herald for 32 years, believes the Toy Fund is important because it continues to foster a community connection.
“Newspapers need to be connected to their communities, and this is a good way to do it,” she said. “It’s just part of the fabric of Portland.”
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