Coco’s Christmas helps area residents in need
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
Coco, a Yorkshire terrier and the namesake of Coco’s Christmas, takes a break Saturday at LeMoyne Community Center.
A selection of stuffed toys were among the things visitors to Coco's Christmas had to choose from.
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
Visitors to Coco’s Christmas go through clothing at the LeMoyne Community Center Saturday.
Despite steady rain and a cutting wind, people started lining up an hour before the doors opened at the LeMoyne Community Center Saturday morning.
Individuals and families, the young and the old were there for Coco’s Christmas, an annual event where people can get free toys and gifts that they, in turn, can give at Christmas.
More than 1,500 people, most of them economically disadvantaged, were expected to turn out, according to Joyce Ellis, the executive director of the LeMoyne Community Center.
“(Ellis) has been doing this for years,” said Washington resident Kimara King. “I’m a single mother, and I wanted to get Christmas presents for my baby.”
Now in its fifth year, Coco’s Christmas offers an array of goods donated by organizations, businesses and individuals. There was also a children’s craft booth and food.
“It’s gotten big,” Ellis said, noting they needed to bring in more toys by mid-afternoon. “We’re just trying to keep it under control.”
Unlike some other events of this kind, there are no income requirements to participate in Coco’s Christmas, with seniors and veterans given the first opportunity to go through the goods. Named after Ellis’ Yorkshire terrier, it drew residents from throughout the area. Ellis said people from Allegheny, Fayette and Westmoreland counties and West Virginia attended the event.
As in previous years, Coco was there, decked out in festive seasonal gear.
Nicholas Ruperto of McDonald was helping out at Coco’s Christmas as a volunteer. A student at California University of Pennsylvania, he explained, “I heard they needed some help, and it made my heart happy.”