Hope for the Holidays Toy Drive and Motorcycle Run to Benefit Brightside

SPRINGFIELD — The children served by Brightside for Families and Children will be the recipients of the annual Hope for the Holidays Toy Drive.

The three-day event will begin on Friday, Nov. 5 and continue on Saturday, Nov. 6 at the Walmart store at 591 Memorial Dr. in Chicopee. During those two days, new unwrapped toys, gift cards and monetary donations will be collected from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 7, the motorcycle-run portion of the event will begin at 11 a.m. from Walmart to Brightside, located at MiraVista Behavioral Health Center (formerly Providence Behavioral Health Hospital) at 1233 Main St. in Holyoke. The entry fee for the ride will be a donated toy, gift card, or monetary donation.

Event organizers are Bruce Rivest, Melvyn Hook, and Peter Silvano. Rivest originally contacted the Philanthropy department at Mercy Medical Center about coordinating a toy drive for Brightside. Adopted as a child himself from Brightside in 1970, he knows firsthand the importance Brightside plays in the local community.

“Although the pandemic has had a significant impact on many aspects of daily life, we are grateful to be able to continue this annual tradition,” he said. “It’s so important to ensure that every child and family supported by Brightside has hope and joy this holiday season.”

For more information or to make a donation, visit give.mercycares.com/toy-drive.