By SANDY McGEE

WOONSOCKET — Hundreds of families lined up outside Family Resource’s Community Action office at 245 Main St. on Friday for a little holiday shopping.

Parents and guardians began lining up outside the office two hours before the doors opened at 10 a.m., said Deb Grasso, coordinator of the holiday distribution program at Family Resources.
The annual program, officially named the Children’s Holiday Hope Fund, offers assurance for many disadvantaged families who wish to provide their child with a toy and needed winter clothing accessories this holiday season.
Parent after parent entered the Main Street building on Friday to receive one toy, one winter hat and a pair of mittens for each eligible child. All of the needy families received the toy and winter gear for free.
Kristen Mojkowski, 25, of Woonsocket, said the holidays would not be possible for her family without this program.
“For families that can’t afford toys, it’s a great thing to get a brand new toy and hats and mittens, especially when Christmas is really hard and you can’t get them,” Mojkowski said. “Families really depend on this.”
Organizers said they expected close to 1,000 families to visit the office on Friday and more than 1,000 on Saturday.
“We have toys and hats and mittens available for 2,500 children,” Grasso said. “Some kids were wearing hats and mittens they got last year, which indicates a need for this. Hopefully, the hats and mittens they receive today will keep them warm until next year.”
The program is a collaborated effort with the state Department of Human Services; Hasbro Inc., which is headquartered in Pawtucket; The Providence Journal and Family Resources Community Action.
The Department of Human Services selects the families based upon state services the family has received. In order to qualify for the program, the family must receive some sort of state aid, such as food,
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rental or heating assistance.
Parents are not eligible for the program unless they previously received a letter from the Department of Human Services alerting them to their eligibility. The program is also limited to families residing in the Woonsocket area.
Alena Rodriguez, 31, of Woonsocket, visited Family Resources on Friday to shop for gifts for her 10-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl.
“I’ve been coming here since my kids were babies,” Rodriguez said. “It’s very important. With bills and rent, I don’t have the money to buy them anything. It’s a big help.
“They do a wonderful thing here for those that don’t have too much. When you are on a fixed income and all of it goes to rent or bills, you don’t have anything left to get toys.”
The second floor of the Family Resource office building was setup with “stores” in each room in order for parents to pick out their own toys for children.
“This allows parents to keep their dignity by letting them choose the toys themselves,” Grasso said. “We do it so parents can do the shopping.”
Nearly 20 volunteers wearing holiday theme attire, such as Santa Claus hats and reindeer antlers, led participants through each room. The volunteers assisted participants with their shopping on Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with an hour break from 4 to 5 p.m. The program will also be held today from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the office at 245 Main St.
“Welcome to our own Santa’s workshop,” said one volunteer.
Several pallets holding hundreds of toys from “Candyland” board games to giant Tonka trucks lined each room, which were divided by age groups. 
Available toys also included teddy bears, footballs, dolls, giant “Transformer” action figures, an electronic version of “Yahtzee” and even MP3 players specifically designed for children.
One room featured a large display of colorful hats and mittens for both boys and girls.
One smiling participant leaving the building on Friday was heard shouting, “thank-you and merry Christmas,” to volunteers in the hallway.
Angelica Smith, 28, of Woonsocket, a native of Georgia, said there is definitely a need for this program. “There are families out there, like me, that have nothing,” Smith said. “It is very important. Without this program, the kids would have nothing.”
Smith waited an hour in line on Friday in order to find gifts for her two girls, ages 2 and 7.
Grasso said the program was previously held in recent years at offsite locations, where Family Resources needed to pay rent for the facility.
This year, organizers were able to use the second floor office space due to several programs moving to Family Resources’ new, second location at 55 Main St.
Programs are still available at the 245 Main St. location, but the move made Friday’s holiday program possible at this office.
Grasso also said there is no funding available for the holiday program within Family Resource’s budget. The entire program is made possible through donations from sponsors.