Some 5,000 children in Lackawanna County will have a brighter Christmas thanks to the Gifts for Kids Holiday Gift Program, a collaboration between Friends of the Poor and the Catherine McAuley Center: A Partnership for the Common Good and Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton. The organizations are connecting community donors with families living at or below the poverty line. Preregistered families were able to “shop” at no cost for donated toys for their children, hosted at the University of Scranton’s Byron Recreational Complex. Collected toys were delivered to the university, where volunteers sorted and prepared them for distribution on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Toys are stacked up in the Byron Complex at the University of Scranton during the toy distribution Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Volunteer Brian Nasko helps shoppers during the toy distribution at University of Scranton’s Byron Complex in Scranton Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)