image description
Emergency responders and volunteers set up for last year's toy drive at Walmart. They will be at the store again on Saturday for the 2025 toy drive.

North Adams Emergency Services Collecting Toys for Local Children

Staff Reports Print Story | Email Story
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — If you see emergency vehicles at Walmart on Saturday — give them a toy. 
 
The annual Emergency Service Toy Drive will be accepting new, unwrapped toys for needy families from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
The emergency responders will be set up near the Walmart entrance and will be accepting suitable toys for ages zero to 12 like board games, dolls and action figures, building blocks, art supplies and sports equipment.
 
Toys can also be dropped off until Dec. 11 at the police station, fire station, ambulance station and Bright Ideas Brewery. Monetary donations can be dropped off at the police station to MaryAnn King's attention. 
 
The city's Police and Fire Departments and Northern Berkshire EMS have been running the drive for about decade now. 
 
But organizer King said this year the need is greater than ever. The drive already has 62 families and more than 120 children signed up.
 
"It seems likes it's going to be a tough year and we want to make sure everybody gets something," said King. 
 
Families and children are mostly identified through the Berkshire Community Action Council; volunteers, including from Berkshire Family and Individual Resources, help organize the toys by age and wrap them up for distribution in December. 
 
All of the donations will be given out to children in the community. 

Tags: Christmas story,   emergency services,   toys,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Dix's Dinger Propels NAFD/NAPD to League Title

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Anna Dix really cleaned up on Tuesday night.
 
The NAFD/NAPD catcher went 4-for-4 at the plate and ended the championship game of the North Adams Women’s Softball League with a three-run home run to left to give her team an 12-9 walk-off win over Belle Ame Lashes.
 
Then, Dix literally cleaned up, grabbing a couple of the bases and putting them in the Disanti Field storage shed before joining her teammates for a team picture at home plate to celebrate the win.
 
“Usually, it’s the home team that brings them in,” she said afterward.
 
Sure, but the player of the game who just clinched a league title with one swing of the bat?
 
“I’m just that person,” Dix said with a shrug. “I like to clean up after playing and all that stuff.”
 
She and her North Adams Fire Department/North Adams Police Department teammates trailed, 8-6, midway through the fifth inning and again, 9-7, with three outs left to go.
 
View Full Story

More North Adams Stories