BostonHerald.com - the Edge: What gives? Small charities struggle despite upturn in economy

BostonHerald.com - the Edge: What gives? Small charities struggle despite upturn in economy: "What gives? Small charities struggle despite upturn in economy
By Christopher Cox
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Even Santa Claus needs a Santa Claus.

While the kids were playing at the Eastern Service Workers Association holiday party, volunteers quietly put gifts in the hands of their parents, who then took them out the back door of a Dorchester church.

This way, more than 100 children will have a present to open on Christmas morning.

``It's a bitter pill to swallow if you can't give your kids toys,'' said Elisabeth Stevens, one of the founders of the private, mutual-benefit association in Roxbury. ``We put toys in the hands of parents. "