Gift drive put PJs under the tree

Gig Harbor shoppers donated 2,914 presents for needy children during the Lions Club annual Giving Tree promotion, organizers said this week.

That includes 242 pairs of pajamas, which the Children’s Home Society had identified as a special need this year.

“So awesome!” said Ruth Peterson, club vice-president. “What a generous community we live in.”

A total of 47 Gig Harbor businesses signed up to host giving trees in the weeks before Christmas. The trees were decorated with tags that suggested toys or clothes for a child of a specific age. Customers picked a tag, shopped for the item and returned it to the store where they got the tag.

Pajamas were a special request from the Children’s Home Society, which distributes gifts to children on the Key Peninsula each year.

“We found we were getting many, many nice toys, but parents and caregivers were looking for pajamas,” said Gina Cabiddu, community manager for CHS. “And, boy, did the Lions come through for us.”

CHS helped out between 300 and 400 people from its Vaughn center, where families or caregivers could sign up for individual shopping appointments to choose gifts for children.

“We like doing it this way, because no one knows their children better than their caregivers,” said Cabiddu, “and it preserves their dignity as well.”

Most families got to pick out a couple of toys, some clothes and a household item like a pot or pan, she said.

“I think the Lions delivered something like five trucks full of donations,” said Cabiddu. “There were so many toys we were able to give most kids an extra one.”

Other Giving Tree presents were distributed by the FISH Food bank and the Boys and Girls Club of Gig Harbor.

“These are groups that have long worked with children, so they know the families that are struggling, and they make sure the gifts get into the right hands,” Peterson said.

This story was originally published December 25, 2019 at 12:00 AM.