Mark Czerniak, the founder of The Czerniak Community Cares Toy Drive. He is hoping to achieve 501 (c)(3) nonprofit status so he may continue running charitable drives. (Photo by Peter Currier)
WESTFIELD- There are many charities and gift drives happening in the Westfield area as the holiday season gets into full swing. Most are run by larger organizations and groups, such as the Salvation Army or Westfield State’s Public Safety Department gift drive. There is at least one, however, that is starting from scratch, and is represented by just one person.
Mark Czerniak founded The Czerniak Community Cares Toy Drive just this year. In recent holiday seasons, Czerniak spent some time dressing up as Santa and visiting families to hand out gifts to children.
“They absolutely loved it,” said Czerniak, “I really wanted to step it up this year.”
Czerniak came up with the idea to start a toy drive back in July. He wanted to be able to interact with the community and direct where all the donations end up going. This year, all donations will be sent to local children’s hospitals and food pantries. Shriners and Baystate Children’s Hospitals are among the recipients of most of the donations. He will also be sending donations to the Westfield Food Pantry and the YWCA’s New Beginnings domestic violence shelter. Czerniak notes that he is running and organizing this charity all on his own.
There are nine locations throughout Westfield where one can drop off their donations until December 14th. Anytime Fitness, Circuit Coffee (cash only), Family Dollar (toys only), Re/Max Compass, Roots Athletics Center (cash only), Skyline Trading (cash only), Soups On, Union Crossing Realty, and Whip City Music.
The Czerniak donation drive began on November 14th and will continue until December 14th. It will conclude with an event on the Westfield Green called A Night Under the Stars. The event will feature music, food, and a raffle in which one can win a number of prizes donated from local businesses. The proceeds from the raffle will be added to the existing cash donations.
Mark Czerniak donning his Santa Clause costume. Czerniak would dress up as Santa and visit families during the holidays to hand out presents to the children. (Photo submitted by Mark Czerniak)
“One can win $50 from Whip City Music and three $10 gift cards to Two River Burrito among other things,” said Czerniak, “I asked for a $10 minimum donation from every company and pretty much all of them blew that out of the water.”
Czerniak hopes to have a representative from each business present at the event so they may be recognized properly by the community.
Czerniak noted his surprise that so many local businesses were willing to donate to his cause, considering it did not exist before this year. He recalled a situation in previous years in which somebody disappeared with the donated money.
“When I heard about that I immediately went to the police station and asked who to give my information to so everyone knows this is legitimate,” said Czerniak, “I had to contact as many businesses as I could so they know this is real and that the donations will go where I say they are going to go.”
A Night Under the Stars will also feature activities for kids and attendees are encouraged to bring more gift donations if they can. The event begins at 7 p.m. on December 14th and will end at 10 p.m.
Czerniak said that he hopes to continue to run charitable events year-round in addition to his holiday toy drive. His ambitions do not stop there, as he is currently enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University to receive a Bachelor’s in Political Science. He also plans to attend law school later on. In addition to his education and ongoing charity, Czerniak is working to have his new organization, the M.E.C. Group designated as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit.
