Donations sought to make Christmas happy for children

CoNSERNS-U, which is collecting Christmas gifts for needy children, needs all the donations it can get.

CoNSERNS-U, an agency of Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese, serves individuals and families in Rensselaer County through such efforts as a food pantry, crisis intervention, emergency assistance, clothing and back-to-school supplies.

Last Christmas, thanks to donations from individuals and businesses, the agency provided Christmas toys and gifts to more than 1,700 children.

Last appeal

Kathy Patton, program coordinator for CoNSERNS-U, said that donations of toys are down this year. But "we're still hoping that people will donate new toys for kids from birth through 17," she said.

The agency accepts new, unwrapped toys, games, books and dolls, as well as movie tickets and CDs for teens.

"Our parents will visit on 'shopping day' to actually Christmas shop for their children from the selections of donated toys and gifts," she said.

Food needed

CoNSERNS-U is also asking for donations of money or food for their pantry, which feeds approximately 375 people each month.

"This year," Ms. Patton explained, "there has been an increase in housing and heating costs. Many of our clients are among the working poor and are not eligible for other assistance programs. The majority of these are working single moms who simply don't make enough money to cover all their expenses."

Although Ms. Patton does a lot of the work herself, she relies extensively on 200 volunteers. "I just don't know what I'd do without them. They make this program successful," she said.

(CoNSERNS-U is an acronym for Community Network of Schodack, East Greenbush, Rensselaer, Nassau and Sand Lake United. It welcomes sponsors for the holiday season. A commitment of $50 fills a Christmas wish list for one child. To donate, call 463-8571.)

(12/15/05) [[In-content Ad]]