https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/\u2026\/ls\/1LELWDWC7FHON\/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
SCRANTON \u2013 Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton is once again hoping to make Christmas special for thousands of area children through its annual Gifts for Kids program.<\/p>\n
The agency is currently seeking donations of toys and gifts to provide to children in Scranton, Carbondale, and Hazleton. Program coordinators say they are experiencing an increase in the number of families registered for assistance heading into the 2025 Christmas season.<\/p>\n
In Carbondale, 280 children have already registered for the program \u2013 an increase of 10-15 children compared to last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur distribution is going to be on Tuesday, Dec. 9 for registered families,\u201d Jolette Lyons, Catholic Social Services Director of Lackawanna County Offices, said. \u201cAnyone who missed registration \u2013 including grandparents who might need something \u2013 we\u2019re having a second-chance giveaway on Dec. 10 from 8 a.m. to noon at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Carbondale, registered parents or guardians will have the opportunity to \u201cshop\u201d for their children, selecting one large gift, two smaller gifts, stocking stuffers, coats, hats, gloves, socks, puzzles, books, and games. All items are new and unwrapped to allow families a dignified and personalized shopping experience.<\/p>\n
Dominique Draper, who helps to coordinate the Christmas program in Carbondale, said it provides critical support to families already struggling with rising grocery costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so easy to get down on yourself when you\u2019re going through hard times,\u201d she said. \u201cOur mission is to make sure everybody who walks through these doors feels understood and welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Scranton, the Christmas Gifts for Kids program is conducted in partnership with Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center, ensuring a coordinated response to families in need.<\/p>\n
Across all three locations, CSS is asking the public to help restock its supply of toys and gifts. The community can donate in several ways:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Amazon Wish Lists (Scan the QR Codes and the toys will be sent directly to CSS offices)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Monetary Donations <\/p>\n
\u2022 Toy Drives through local parishes or community groups<\/p>\n
\u201cThe local community has already started donating,\u201d Lyons said. \u201cOur local parishes, agencies and everyone is always so generous.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amazon Wish List for Carbondale: https:\/\/a.co\/9ccod4S Amazon Wish List for Scranton: https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/\u2026\/ls\/1LELWDWC7FHON\/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex \u00a0 SCRANTON \u2013 Catholic Social Services…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":["post-39723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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