Toy Donations Down in Tough Economy

Non-profit in 'woeful' need of toys, especially those for young girls.

For nearly 20 years, a local non-profit has been helping to make Christmases for financially struggling families a little brighter. Toy Express, an organization that serves Chicago's western suburbs, collects new, unwrapped gifts at local fire departments to be offered to families on financial assistance in DuPage County. Fire departments serve as drop off points for the presents, which are then collected and brought to a donated storefront. Parents can then make appointments to come to the store to pick out toys for their kids. "From the very beginning, they thought families would be interested in being able to choose from the gifts donated—whatever sparked interest in their little one," said Cindy Bokhart, who, along with her husband, …

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Just Off Main Street

Lynn Hudoba: The Urge to Purge

Is the thrill of getting rid of stuff as much of a disorder as hoarding?

Hoarding seems to be all the rage these days, and I wonder what it is about this moment in history that has brought out this particular brand of crazy in the human race. I suppose some will try to make the case, as they frequently do with autism, that this disorder has always been around and has just now been given a fancy label. To which I say what I always say: I sure don’t remember being around tons of people like this when I was growing up to the point where I said to myself “There really oughta be a name for that.” But these days you can’t hardly swing a dead cat without hitting someone who has a house full of dead cats. I was going to say that I am whatever the opposite of a hoarder is. But I think that would imply that I live in an …

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