Local Donors Bring Loads of Holiday Cheer to Toni’s Kitchen Guests

During the holiday season, Toni's Kitchen receives the most amazing and thoughtful donations from so many people and organizations in our community. These donations help our neighbors in need with food for their family, toys for their children, or a warm hat in the cold weather. This year was no exception. Here are just a few of the special donations we received over the past few weeks:

>> Gorgeous, hand-decorated teddy bears have become an annual holiday tradition at Toni's Kitchen! Thank you to the Girl Scouts from Service Unit 28–South Orange and Maplewood for bringing so much joy to so many families year after year!

<< The Montclair Knitting Circle once again donated the proceeds from their annual Montclair Farmers Market sale to benefit our work at Toni's Kitchen. What creativity and generosity! Their handmade knitwear is crafted with love and care, and through their gift, they are spreading more love to our community through meaningful food support.

>> Thank you to the members and staff at the YMCA of Montclair for a truck full of toys and gifts for our families! Your generosity brings joy to so any families this holiday season!

<< Our friends at Elemental Interiors in Caldwell help spread joy this holiday season with their beautiful "Love Blast" of flowers for our neighbors visiting Zufall mobile market for fresh produce and groceries. These thoughtful gifts were made even more special by the heartfelt messages decorating each bouquet, created by West Orange second graders, whose kindness and creativity truly shined. Acts like these capture the heart of our community—thoughtful, creative, and rooted in care for our neighbors. Thank you for making the season brighter!

>> A beautiful "Warming Tree" filled with brand new children's and adult's hats, gloves, mittens and scarves was donated by the families of Rainbow Child Care Center & Preschool sponsored by the Roseland United Methodist Church.

And here's one heart-warming story from Toni's Closet that shows how one donation really helped one family appreciate the true spirit of the season: On Christmas Eve, Toni's Kitchen received a donation to cover the cost of some children's toys at Toni's Closet. On Christmas Day, we heard from a Mom who said that she has ordered a gift online for her oldest son at a department store. When she went to pick up the gift, it was broken and the store only offered her a refund, so she was left without a gift for her son. She went to Toni's Closet and picked out a few toys and was then told that the toys were already paid for by the Christmas Eve donation. The Mom said, "Thank you for this Christmas miracle."

We thank all of these groups and everyone in our community for your generosity during the holiday season! We are so grateful!