In December 1974, The Bulletin (Norwich's local newspaper) received a letter from a young girl in Eastern Connecticut concerned that there would be no toys for her younger brother Tommy on Christmas morning. She had overheard a conversation her mother was having that she had no extra money this holiday season to spend on toys for her children and instead needed the money for rent, utilities, and f
ood. This young girl wrote her letter to the Bulletin in hopes that somebody in the region would be able to provide a few presents for them on Christmas morning. "I’m old enough to understand,” the girl wrote. “But my little brother, Tommy, won’t understand why Santa Claus stopped at all his friends’ houses, but not at our house.”
The then editors of the Bulletin, Malcolm Morse and Greg LaFreniere, wrote a story and immediately published it just days before Christmas. The response from the community was overwhelming and enough donations were received that toys were provided to at least a dozen children in the New London and Windham counties. Today, annual fundraisers are held throughout the year especially during November and December to collect toys and raise funds for the Tommy Toy Fund. Toys are then distributed in the surrounding areas for children in need just in time for Christmas morning. Please consider donating to the Tommy Toy Fund as the holiday season fast approaches!
