The Peterborough Sunshine Fund, a nonprofit organization founded by local philanthropist Jim Grant and continued after his death, has begun its annual Christmas gift donation event.
Trees are set up in locations around town with tags hanging off the branches. On one tree at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is written “Girl, Age 11-12,” on another “Boy, Age 7-10.” A laminated sign behind the tree offers gift suggestions: clothing, craft kits, outdoor toys, family games, Legos, science kits or sports/games. The aim is to have community members take a tag and buy a gift that matches what is written on it, bring the gift back unwrapped and place it under the tree by Dec. 17.
The Peterborough Fire Department stops by each tree and collects the items to bring to Sunshine Fund volunteers, who arrange a pop-up store where families in need can come choose gifts.
Mandy Sliver, president of the Sunshine Fund, explained that there are multiple programs around town that help families afford Christmas gifts.
“There are some programs where a specific child is given specific toys,” she said. “Sunshine Fund is for the families that aren’t aware that they’re not going to be able to provide Christmas gifts.”
Sliver expects this year will be particularly challenging for many families.
“In the last month, the number of evictions is staggering,” she said, emphasizing that New Hampshire has a major lack of affordable housing. “[Housing companies] know people are in at a lower rent now – if they evict them they can get more money,” and with rents being raised across the region, there aren’t many options for people who need a new place to live.
“I don’t know anybody whose rent didn’t increase this year,” Sliver said.
Sliver has also seen that a lot of households have gained additional members.
“It’s not always a traditional family that uses these programs,” Sliver said, “There’s a lot of transition happening right now because of the housing crisis.”
She has seen individuals and families who have moved in with relatives, friends and neighbors.
“They’re not on the streets, but they are homeless,” she said.
The Sunshine Fund offers financial assistance on a case-to-case basis all year to with basic human needs, medical costs and gas cards. For their gift program, they assist families who thought they would be able to afford Christmas this year, but unexpected events happened and they can’t.
“The focus is every kid deserves a happy Christmas, a magical Christmas,” Sliver said. “Usually, if someone is struggling with Christmas gifts, they’re struggling in other areas too.”
Sliver said local assistance programs “have helped more people in the last three months in some cases than the last 2 1/2 years.”
The Sunshine Fund’s Christmas program is for families across the region, not just in Peterborough, and it provides gifts to children up to 18 years old. There are even some tags with gifts for parents so they can unwrap a gift under the tree on Christmas morning, too.
Sliver explained that once the gifts are collected and set up, parents and guardians who can’t afford gifts for their family can “come in and identify what’s going to mean something to their child.”
Last year, the program served about seven different towns, 25 to 30 families and 65 children. Children were typically given more than one gift.
“In New Hampshire, people tend to struggle in silence. They don’t want anyone to know,” Sliver said. “We have such a wonderful community that’s willing to help without making people feel like they are failing. The number of gifts we pick up every year is proof that people want to help.”
Christmas trees are located at the the following Peterborough locations: Toadstool Bookshop, Brady’s American Grill, Nonie’s Restaurant and Bakery, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, Dollar General and the Peterborough Fire Station. The fire station also has a lock box where people may bring gifts.
There are assistance programs in the region for people and families in need around the holidays and year-round. Sliver generally directs people to The River Center and Southern New Hampshire Services, which help local people and are also able to connect people with more-specialized programs.
People can donate directly to the Sunshine Fund at sunshinefundnh.org or may mail checks or gifts to 20 Depot St., Suite 312, Peterborough 03458.