Some of the nearly two hundred toys that were distributed to CAAS Head Start children by Kiwanis members.

Over the past three days, members of the Kiwanis Club of Somerville have taken on the role as Santa’s elves, delivering wrapped toys to 150 children in Somerville and Cambridge who are part of the CAAS Head Start Program. The names, ages and gender of each child were sent to the Somerville Kiwanis Club where program chairman and head elf Jim Bowdring, and co-chair, Jillian Bowdring, divided the list amount amongst the member elves, who purchased and wrapped toys for the children.  The toys were then brought to the Kiwanis Toy Shop, also known as Superior Promotions, where members divided the toys for delivery to the children in our community.

The Somerville Kiwanis Club has provided toys to Head Start children at Christmas for more than twenty years.  Until the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020, the children were treated to a pizza party at the Holiday Inn and Santa Clause would arrive to personally distribute the toys.  For the past two years, the club has been unable to hold the party due to the pandemic.  As a result, another plan was needed.  “We could not disappoint these children, so Jim Bowdring came up with this plan to deliver the toys,” said Kiwanis President Mernaysa Rivera-Bujosa.  This is one of the Somerville Kiwanis Clubs most important annual events. 

To learn more about the Kiwanis Club of Somerville, become a member or support our programs, visit their web site, www.somervillekiwanis.org