Newtown Junior Women’s Club (NJWC) and Education Connection have launched the annual Tag-A-Gift Program, one part of the annual Newtown Fund Holiday Basket Program.

NJWC and Education Connection are coordinating this year the collection and wrapping of holiday gifts for Newtown children in need. The Tag-A-gift program provides the toys and other gifts for The Newtown Fund’s annual gift and food drive for local families. The event culminates with Depot Day, when all items are delivered to families in Newtown who need a hand putting food on the table and gifts under the tree.

NJWC has done the Tag-A-Gift program for years, but is now being joined by the regional educational service center.

NJWC member Meri Jitsukawa said the groups decided to band together after seeing a similar purpose.

“We’re all working toward the same goal, so we decided to work together this year,” she said November 17. Ms Jitsukawa was at Stop & Shop in Sand Hill Plaza that afternoon, along with her children and Education Connection employee Nicole Thomas, putting ornaments on a Giving Tree that has been set up near the supermarket’s Customer Service desk. Each Giving Tree is decorated with ornaments that serve a dual purpose.

Members of Newtown Girl Scout Troop 50293 and children who participate in Education Connection school-age programs made the tag ornaments for this year’s trees. The ornaments are meant to be picked up with the tags, and kept “as a small thank you,” Ms Jitsukawa told The Bee last year.

On the front of each tag is a thank you note, a reminder that gifts should be unwrapped when they are returned, and the date of this year’s drop-off donation. The back of each tag includes the gender, age, and wish of each person participating in the program. The identity of the families participating in The Newtown Fund are known only to Newtown Social Services, which organizes the program and keeps the names of those asking for help anonymous.

New this year is a request to include a gift receipt with the unwrapped gift being donated.

“People sometimes struggle with age-appropriate gifts,” said Ms Jitsukawa. “Even if you know that you need to purchase something for a girl of a specific age, you can find yourself wondering ‘Does she like Dora The Explorer or does she like Frozen?” This will help parents make sure their children get the gift they really want.”

Giving Trees with tag ornaments have been set up at six additional locations: Bagel Delight, 30 Church Hill Road; Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street; Newtown Country Club, 1 Country Club Road; Newtown Savings Bank’s main branch, at 39 Main Street; NYA Sports & Fitness Center, 4 Primrose Street; and Wesley Learning Center, 92 Church Hill Road.

Residents are invited to take a tag, purchase the wished for item, and return the unwrapped gift with tag information attached to the collection bin at the same location they got the tag.

Time is of the essence. The unwrapped gifts need to be returned to the decorated collection box at each location no later than Monday, December 8.

Tag-A-Gift benefits the town’s less fortunate children and young adults. The majority of those receiving gifts through the program are teenagers.

Unfortunately, sometimes there are tags that are not selected by the public. Financial donations can also be made to help purchase gifts, which will be done during the week of December 8-13.

Those who wish to donate to Tag-A-Gift can do so at Stop & Shop. Checks payable to NJWC can be left at the Customer Service desk, and should also be done by December 8.

Volunteers will then wrap all gifts that week. All gifts will be delivered to Fraser Woods Montessori School by Saturday, December 13, in time for Depot Day.

For additional information call 203-270-3767 or or 203-364-0466, or visit newtownjuniorwomen.com.