In Madison, people are working to make sure that no child goes without the chance to wake up and find a special gift or present waiting for them this holiday season.

In conjunction with the E.C. Scranton Memorial Library and Madison Youth & Family Services, the Madison Police Department (MPD) is deep into its annual drive to collect toys, games, books, and gift cards that will be distributed to families in need this holiday season, helping to ensure that every child in town will have something new and exciting to play with, no matter their circumstances.

MPD Records Specialist Valerie Soule said the effort serves somewhere around 30 families each year, soliciting age-appropriate gifts for kids and teens up to the age of 17, as the donations of Madison businesses and those residents who have extra this holiday season help to fill the proverbial stockings of their neighbors. Every family in the program also receives a Stop & Shop gift card, Soule said.

“The families in town are very generous,” Soule said. “We have people that...will donate money, a lot will donate gift cards...those, we really appreciate because its very hard to [shop] for the older children in the families.”

Soule spoke of the consistent contributions of many Madison residents who every year find special ways to do something for the less fortunate members of their community. She said one person hand knits “beautiful, amazing” hats to be donated. Another group quilts blankets every year, she said, some of which MPD places in patrol cars for when officers are comforting children during the course of their work.

The way that MPD delivers toys is also somewhat unique. Soule said that a while ago, gifts were simply packaged up and delivered to families’ doorsteps.

The problem with that, Soule said, is that kids were not always getting presents relevant to their interests. Now, the department invites parents to come to the police department and peruse all the gifts themselves.

“When I took over” the gift drive, Soule said, “we said ‘We’re keeping it here at the PD,’ we’re going to set up a room for them to go shopping at...and they can just go around, and for each child they have, they get to pick out a certain amount of toys, age appropriate...and they love it.”

Adult Services Librarian Rachel Taylor, who coordinates the library’s side of the toy drive, said they continue collecting and distributing books and toys through Monday, Dec. 30 to serve families who don’t celebrate Christmas, or celebrate other holidays in addition to Christmas. She said the library primarily solicits books and smaller toys, as it currently doesn’t have a huge amount of storage space in its temporary location.

Another important thing the library does is advertising the drive, using their connections to churches and other local organizations, Taylor said.

“Every time I go to an event, I hand out flyers about it,” Taylor said.

Taylor said that whatever the library can do at this time of year to help people in need fits neatly into its mission as a community resource, looking for ways that it can make sure people have access to everything they need or want.

“That’s sort of what we’re supposed to do year-round,” Taylor said. “This is just another aspect of that.”

One thing that has been an issue with the drive is finding age-appropriate gifts for older children and teenagers. Soule said they have mostly given gift cards for those age groups, but that she thought it might be a good idea to solicit the high school or involve other young people in Madison to find out what kinds of gifts would be welcome.

“Maybe next year we will have some of the high schoolers give us ideas, because people will always call and say, ‘What do you need for the older kids?’” Soule said. “I have no idea what 15-, 16-, 17-year-olds want.”

Those interested in contributing the toy drive can contact the Madison Police Department at 203-245-2721, particularly for gifts of clothing or food, or contact the E.C. Scranton Library at 203-245-7365.