By: Ashmar Mandou

With the holidays just around the corner, El Hogar del Niño is calling on the community to help spread some joy to more than 300 children through their annual Toy Drive. “It feels very rewarding to know that we are able to help families during this time who may not be able to provide a toy to their children this year,” said Viviana Vergara, home base supervisor for El Hogar del Niño. Since 1972, El Hogar del Niño has been serving Chicago’s predominately Latino neighborhoods of Pilsen and Little Village. The organization provides high-quality childcare services, preschool services, and provides home visit services to pregnant women, infants, and toddlers to promote the school readiness of young children from low-income families. “We try our best to meet the families where they are at; we try to understand that not only are times changing, but also understanding that development and education is changing, and we want to be the people that are there to support them along the way. For us, it’s collaboration, and that feeling of we are just another person in your village to help take care of your child,” said Vergara.

As many years before, El Hogar del Niño is counting on compassionate individuals to help make the holidays even more special by checking out the organization’s Amazon wish list and donating. A lot of care goes into crafting the list, added Vergara. “We really become in tuned with our family and children’s needs. There is strong communication between our home specialists and families, our teachers and children. We have children that are special needs or have language delays, so we take all that into consideration. So, parents’ feedback, feedback from our teacher and education coordinators, and feedback from support specialists and we make those decisions based on what we think our kids might like and what they might need. So, toys can be so much fun, but we try to ensure that the toys are also developmentally appropriate. We want to make sure that there are things they are having fun with but also going to be learning with.”

For those unable to give a monetary donation, there is a plethora of other ways to help. “A lot of things we can try to provide, too, is staff volunteering aspect. So maybe if you can’t provide joy from purchasing a toy, there’s an opportunity to volunteer, or to spread the word. It’s the idea of fulfilling that purpose of giving. It’s not just about the money, it’s also about helping, it’s about being the voice, being the people to push out what we are trying to do. If you donate that would be amazing, but there are other ways people can help.” If you would like to donate where you find toys, such as bingo card sets, Lego sets, Hot Wheels, or if you would like to get involved, visit www.elhogardelnino.org. The annual El Hogar del Niño Toy Drive runs through December 20th.