LI nonprofits worry over holiday toy donations

Long Island's nonprofits fear space under the Christmas tree will be barren at the homes of some of the region's neediest children this holiday season.

Agencies say donations to the area's multiple toy drives are coming in, but not in the quantities needed for a Christmas occurring during a continually troubled economy.

"Last year it was a struggle, but this year it feels impossible," said Melissa Doktovsky, president and founder of Toys of Hope in Huntington Station. "It feels like you're trying to run through a brick wall."

Toys of Hope usually collects toys throughout the summer, and begins delivering them the second week in November. While in past years the agency delivered about 10,000 toys a week, so far this season it has only been able to give out 1,200 gifts.

"There could be children who go without gifts this year," said Doktovsky, who said she is collecting for 60,000 children on Long Island.

Salvation Army envoy Charles Roberts, coordinator for Suffolk County, said donations to that group's Angel Tree program are slow as well. The program pairs needy children with donors through written wishes hung on Christmas trees in local stores.

So far, Roberts said, "due to the economic downturn, many of the companies that have taken larger numbers simply have had to take smaller numbers of angels."

Roberts said he estimated 80 percent of the requests for holiday help this year have come from families who have never requested help from the Salvation Army before.

Captain James Kisser, Nassau coordinator for the Salvation Army, said this year there's been a roughly 25 percent increase in requests for help with toys in the greater Hempstead area alone.

Cynthia Sucich, spokeswoman for the Interfaith Nutrition Network in Hempstead, said her group has had to cut the number of families on its gift list to 500, down from 700 last year.

The group has also pushed back its distribution to Dec. 21 and 22, to account for donors who give late in the season. So far, she said, the group has received about 100 toy donations - and it needs about 4,000.

"It's the beginning of the month and toys are coming in very slowly," Sucich said.

This year, the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots drive in Nassau began a month early, in October. "I said, 'Hey, we're going to start early. The need's going to be greater, you gotta get the word out," said Major Chuck Kilbride, who is in charge of the effort.

Still, Kilbride, who's retired, said he was confident the drive would net the thousands of toys it usually does.

"If I do my job right and we get the word out, we'll get the job done," he said. "Marines don't fail."