Christine Denault, president of the NECC Early Childhood Education Club. with a box of new toy donations for the children residing at Emmaus House.

New baby dolls waiting for names, coloring books waiting for crayons and dominoes waiting to be toppled will soon be in the hands of the more than 100 children residing at Emmaus House in Haverhill thanks to a donation by Northern Essex Community College’s Early Childhood Education Club.

For the past several weeks the club established drop locations on the NECC campus. Faculty, staff, and students of NECC as well as staff and parents of the neighboring Little Sprouts Early Education and Child Center have been collecting new and used toys and games. The new items are being delivered to Emmaus House where staff will distribute them. The used items will be donated to Neighbors in Need in Lawrence.

“We have had an overwhelming response,” said Christine Denault, 53, of Amesbury, who is the president of the Northern Essex ECE Club. “There are more than 100 children living at Emmaus House and we collected about 150 items in the toy drive.”

There are 30 ECE club members who participated in the drive, Denault said. In addition to the general toy drive, the ECE Club also sponsored four custom wishlist items for four of the young residents. Each semester

Toys bound for Emmaus House.

the ECE Club takes on one or two service projects. Earlier in the fall semester club members raised funds to purchase art supplies for the Methuen YMCA.

“We are happy with the great selection of toys,” said Gail Feigenbaum, ECE professor and advisor to the ECE Club. “We had a terrific response from the entire NECC community,” she said.

For additional information contact Feigenbaum at gfeigenbaum@necc.mass.edu

Northern Essex offers an associate degree in early childhood education which prepares students, for professional careers in Early Childhood Education or for transfer to a four-year college.  The college also offers associate degrees in elementary education and middle/high school teaching.  To learn more, contact enrollment services at 978 556-3700 or admissions@necc.mass.edu.