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Tommy Toy provides gifts to children who would receive few or no toys during the holidays. Families with children between the ages of 0-12 years of age residing in New London or Windham County are eligible to register for the program. There are many ways to help by donating, volunteering, running a toy drive, or holding a benefit event during Christmas in July.
Christmas in July of 2026!
To ensure we meet the needs for the 2026 holiday season, we're kicking off Tommy Toy with our annual Christmas in July celebration. Look below at the upcoming events throughout the entirety of July!
July 8, 2026 (ALL MONTH LONG): Christmas in July Kickoff at Jealous Monk, 27 Coogan Blvd, Mystic, CT
Serves as both our Giving Tree site, and our Toy Collection site! All throughout July, anybody who visits will be able to donate, give and visit the room!
July 10, 2026: Groton Concert Series - The Cartells (Toy Collection) Washington Park, Groton, CT, 06340 - 6:30 p.m.
We will be tabling the event, as well as accepting toy and monetary donations.
July 14, 2026: Dine & Donate - Wood N' Tap, 117 Long Hill Rd, Groton, CT (Must show flyer during purchase! Click here for a copy!), 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Come enjoy a meal at locally owned Wood N' Tap! 15% of all profits will be given to the Tommy Toy program.
July 17, 2026: Groton Concert Series - Whiskey Boulevard (Toy Collection) Washington Park, Groton, CT, 06340 - 6:30 p.m.
We will be tabling the event, as well as accepting toy and monetary donations.
July 18, 2026: Block Party & Cornhole Tournament at Outer Light - 266 Bridge St., Groton, CT, 06340 (Click here for cornhole registration!) - 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Join us at Outer Light Brewery for an afternoon of good times, great drinks, and a fantastic cause. Proceeds will benefit United Way's Tommy Toy Program!
July 23, 2026: Dine & Donate - Panera Bread at 903 Hartford Tpke, Waterford, CT, 06385 (Must show flyer during purchase! Click here for a copy!), 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Enjoy a nice meal at Panera! 15% of profits made will be given to the Tommy Toy program.
July 24, 2026: Sea Unicorns Baseball Fundraiser, Dodd Stadium at 14 Scott Ave, Norwich, CT, 06360 - Purchase tickets here: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/f/63le/n?vid=1r1ucd
Play ball! Help us cheer the Norwich Sea Unicorns against the Nashua Silver Knights, and enjoy a firework show at the conclusion of the first game! We will be tabling the event, where toy donations will be accepted.
July 24, 2026: Groton Concert Series - Wicked Peach (Toy Collection) Washington Park, Groton, CT, 06360 - 6:30 p.m.
We will be tabling the event, as well as accepting toy and monetary donations.
Registration for 2025 Tommy Toy is now closed. Please check back for registration for 2026!
Pick-up Day: To Be Announced!
Locations
New London: Gemma E. Moran, United Way Labor Food Center - 374 Broad Street
Norwich: Reliance Health, Wellness Center (basement floor) - 2 Cliff Street
Killingly: Killingly Commons, storefront between Famous Footwear Mattress Firm - 581 Hartford Pike, Dayville, CT 06241
Volunteer opportunities in Norwich and New London
Please check back to see our upcoming volunteer opportunities for 2026!
New London: TBA
Norwich: TBA
It began with a letter in 1974.
In the letter, a young girl said she had overheard her mother telling a friend she didn’t have the money to buy presents for her two children for Christmas that year. A single parent, the woman said her income would only provide for the essentials — rent, utilities and food for her and the two children — but not Christmas gifts.
“I’m old enough to understand,” the girl wrote. “But my little brother, Tommy, won’t understand why Santa Claus stopped at all his friends’ houses, but not at our house. Maybe, there’s someone out there who could afford to provide a toy or two for my little brother.”
The letter was forwarded to then-Metropolitan Editor Greg LaFreniere, who decided to write a story about the girl’s request. LaFreniere’s story appeared on page one of the next day’s Norwich Bulletin.
“I guess I hoped there would be a few people in our readership who still held the spirit of that editorial and who would find it in their hearts to help keep Tommy’s belief in Santa Claus strong,” LaFreniere would say later.
The next day, the newsroom was stacked with toys for Tommy. There were so many donations, that armloads were brought to dozens of families in New London and Windham counties.
The Tommy Toy Fund's reach has expanded greatly since its humble beginnings in 1974. It could have been a one-time event, but the next year Bulletin readers called to ask if the paper was going to have another toy drive. Those readers fueled a decades-long tradition that now provides gifts to thousands of families across the region every December.
In the years after that fateful letter was received, the Tommy Toy Fund enlisted United Way of Southeastern Connecticut to partner, mobilizing volunteers and a more solid infrastructure that the effort requires.
Today, the program is run and operated by United Way of Southeastern Connecticut with the partnership of many other groups, including the three distribution sites in Norwich, New London, and Dayville.