Sweet Charities

CMEE Toy Drive

The Children’s Museum of the East End is collecting new, unwrapped toys and gently used winter clothing for its annual holiday drive. Donations will be distributed during a pair of gift bazaars at the museum scheduled for mid-December.

“The holiday season can be an especially difficult time for families struggling to get by on the East End,” said Steve Long, the museum’s president. “It’s important to us that the toys and winter clothing we collect during the holiday drive are donated to children in our local community.”

Items will be distributed to dozens of low-income children who attend Head Start preschool at CMEE and at other East End locations.

“Year after year, the generosity of museum members and visitors during the holiday drive never ceases to amaze me,” said CMEE’s director of education Liz Bard. “This support makes a huge difference in the lives of so many children in our community.”

Donations can be dropped off at CMEE anytime during regular operating hours. For those who wish to participate but are unable to visit the museum, CMEE has created an Amazon wish list that can be accessed by visiting the museum’s website, www.CMEE.org.

Indy & SoFo Food & Toy Drive

The Independent has teamed up with the South Fork Natural History Museum & Nature Center to gather holiday toys and food.

The toys will be used by the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center to enhance its academic and social-emotional curriculum. Non-perishable food donations will be passed to local food pantries.

Drop off cans or boxes of food at The Independent office at Red Horse Plaza, 74 Montauk Highway, Suite 19 in East Hampton; at the museum at 377 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton; or at Calissa restaurant at 1020 Montauk Highway in Water Mill.

bridget@indyeastend.com