Three girls hope to donate 3,000 gifts this Christmas

METHUEN – It looks like Christmas came early for three local girls as they sorted through bags of new toys dropped off by a friend. But the toys aren’t for Talia and Maxine Harvey or their friend Anna McCabe.

All of the toys, books, games and clothes that have piled up around the house are being donated to the Lawrence Department of Social Services.

Talia, 7, Maxine, 10, and Anna, 11, have been conducting a toy drive every holiday season for as long as they can remember. Now, with the help of their parents, the girls have distributed fliers, solicited businesses for help, and asked guests at holiday parties to bring a gift to donate. After giving 2,000 toys away last year, the girls hope to give away more than 3,000 this year.

All of the items will go to DSS and children living in the state’s care in group or foster homes. It’s a cause that’s special to all three girls because they were all adopted as infants.

“It helps a lot of people,” said Maxine, a Tenney School fifth-grader. “It’s fun to do. Every year we have a Hanukkah party and have everyone bring a toy.”

The trio is focusing on collecting gifts for children 10 years and older.

“(DSS) gets a lot of things for babies, but not a lot for kids our age and teenagers,” Maxine said.

This year, the toy drive has a special meaning. It has been named Debbie’s Treasure Chest, after Debbie D’Iorio, who was a longtime social worker at DSS who died tragically earlier this month in what has been ruled an accidental drowning.

D’Iorio’s sudden death saddened the girls, who had worked with her ever year on the toy drive.

“Everyone loved her. She really loved the kids,” said Anna, a sixth-grader at Pike School in Andover. “We thought it should be named for her.”

D’Iorio’s family is eager to be part of the drive. Family members have brought bags of toys for the girls to donate.

Talia and Maxine’s mom, Linda Harvey, and Anna’s parents, Kevin Herlihy and Mary McCabe, are proud of their daughters’ commitment to the toy drive year after year.

“As the season is coming, you try to get them to understand what Hanukkah and Christmas is all about,” McCabe said. “It’s not just what I want, but what do other kids want.”
Thanks to Sal Lupoli, DTC is set to operate year round. Sal generously donated warehouse space for us to store all the items we have collected. Volunteers from Temple Emanuel helped set up the new location with painting and sorting. 2007 will be a great year.