Westfield Police Cadets are seen at their 2016 toy drive. (WNG file photo)
WESTFIELD- The Westfield Police Youth Cadets will be holding their annual toy drive for families and children in need Saturday December 8th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. outside of Walmart.
The drive, which was first held in 2013, is expected to collect hundreds of toys for over 200 kids and families who experience financial insecurity. The advisors for the Cadets, Officer Christopher Coach and Detective Rick Mazza, originally came up with the idea for the drive.
“My wife was the PTO president for our kid’s elementary school, and they were trying to raise money to buy toys for kids in need,” said Coach, “I told Rick about it and he suggested we do a toy drive.”
One of many piles of toys donated during the 2017 Police Youth Cadets toy drive. (Photo submitted)
Principals from the Westfield elementary and middle schools send the Cadets a list of the children who are in need. The list only gives the age and gender of each child without giving their name. From there they separate the kids by gender and age group for recommended toys.
“Last year we had about the same amount of kids and we were able to give six gifts to each child,” said Coach.
In previous years, the Cadets exceeded their target for donations. They took the extra toys and donated them to a different charity each year. Last year the extra gifts were donated to The Boys and Girls Club.
“I think they got six or seven bags of toys to give to their kids,” said Mazza.
Although they are waiting on confirmation, Coach said that they plan to give any excess gifts to Baystate Children’s Hospital this year.
“Our Cadet’s will be setting up at 9 in the morning, and they probably won’t be done until 9 at night,” said Coach, “because after the event they separate everything.”
The college aged Cadets will go with the officers the following Monday to deliver the toys.
Since they are set up in front of Walmart, a significant number of people will arrive without any gifts to donate. They will often go inside and return with toys they had just purchased to be donated. Mazza and Coach estimate that only a quarter of those who donate arrive with toys.
“There’s usually a steady flow all day,” said Mazza, “either people pulling their cars up and dropping of bags, or people saying they love the idea and we see them on the way out with a big smile on their face.”
The Westfield Police Youth Cadets are a group of volunteers aged 13 to 20 who are interested in being officers when they get older. They often assist police with events around the city. Mazza and Coach were both members of the program when they were in high school and now act as advisers. The program began in Westfield in 1994.
