Toys for Joy is back, and we've expanded our campaign to include more areas of the Poconos

Ashley Catherine Fontones, Pocono Record
·2 min read

The season of giving is finally here.

The Pocono Record is bringing back our annual holiday giving campaign "Toys for Joy", but this year, we are expanding our purview to include our sister paper, the Tri-County Independent. The TCI serves readers in Wayne, eastern Lackawanna, and northern Pike counties. Pocono Record serves readers in Monroe and southern Pike counties. Our reporters have been working as a unified team for nearly two years.

It's a natural step for our united northeast Pennsylvania newsroom to combine holiday fundraising efforts this season.

Every year, Toys for Joy kicks off to coincide with the holiday season to raise money for families in need in the Pocono Mountains.

Toys for Joy is the Pocono Record’s annual holiday campaign which benefits three local charities in the Poconos. This year, the Record has partnered with Tri-County Independent in Honesdale and AllOne Charities to gather and distribute those funds.
Toys for Joy is the Pocono Record’s annual holiday campaign which benefits three local charities in the Poconos. This year, the Record has partnered with Tri-County Independent in Honesdale and AllOne Charities to gather and distribute those funds.

In 2021, we made it even easier to donate by partnering with AllOne Charities. The partnership allowed us to collect donations online, a new tradition we will continue on with this year.

For years now, we've raised tens of thousands of dollars with the help of generous readers like you. These essential funds go to help charities in our region give local families a Christmas to remember.

For example, the Salvation Army of East Stroudsburg was able to use their 2021 donation from the campaign towards more than 11,000 holiday gifts of toys and clothing for their "Angel Tree."

Funds distributed earlier in 2021 and late 2020 will go towards this year's holiday, and funds raised this holiday season will go towards Christmas 2023.

We are proud that this year, we will be able to contribute to such efforts not only in Monroe County, but to worth endeavors in Wayne and Pike as well.

From behalf of all of us at the Pocono Record and Tri-County Independent, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you in advance for your continued generosity to this campaign.

The Toys for Joy campaign raised more than $17,000 in 2019. Part of that money was donated to Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network. The organization distributed toys to families in the West End two weeks before Christmas.
The Toys for Joy campaign raised more than $17,000 in 2019. Part of that money was donated to Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network. The organization distributed toys to families in the West End two weeks before Christmas.

How to donate to Toys for Joy

Donations must be made online, by check or by money order only. No cash can be accepted.

To donate online, go to poconorecord.com/toysforjoy or formstack.io/21E47.

Checks must be made out to AllOne Charities and mailed to 83 East Union St., Wilkes Barre, PA 18701.

— Ashley Fontones is the managing editor at the Pocono Record and Tri-County Independent. Reach her by emailing afontones@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Pocono Record Toys for Joy campaign expands to include Honesdale area