SALEM — Police Capt. John Lozowski has worked with the Salem Toys for Tots for 18 years, and the sign promoting the program outside the police station has been the same since he started.
With the paint chipping off and fading, a new one was needed. School Resource Officer Matthew Norcross recruited the help of Salem High School art teacher Sandra Kavanaugh's painting class earlier this school year to help make a new one.
The sign was finished and brought to the police station yesterday afternoon.
The placement of the new sign in front of the station kicked off the department's collection season. Ten other locations around town will start taking in toys on Friday, Lozowski said.
Ten high-school students painted the new sign, which was designed by Norcross. He even helped add the last touches to the paint job.
When approached with the idea, Kavanaugh said she thought she would likely end up doing the project on her own.
"I didn't think they would have enough time," she said. "But they said they would work on it after school."
The wood for the sign was cut and prepared by Salem High School students, Kavanaugh said.
Toy donations are divided between the Toys for Tots program run by the U.S. Marine Corps in Londonderry and local families through the Salem Christmas Fund.
The program hasn't seen a noticeable dip in collections in recent years, though there always seems to be a shortage of gifts for older children, Lozowski said. The department will collect toys from now until Christmas Eve.
Run by the Marine Corps, Toys for Tots collects new, unwrapped toys each year and distributes them as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community.
Donations can be dropped off at the Salem police station, 9 Veterans Memorial Parkway.
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Where to donate
Salem Police Department, 9 Veterans Memorial Parkway
Salem Fire Department, 152 Main St.
Salem Boys & Girls Club, 3 Geremonty Drive
Salem Cooperative Bank, 3 S. Broadway
Woodbury Middle School, 206 Main St.
Burlington Self Storage 232 N. Broadway
St. Joseph's School, Main Street
Best Buy, South Broadway
Walmart, 326 N. Broadway
Soule Leslie Kidder, 220 Main St.
Data Electronic Devices, 32 Northwestern Drive
