Dozens of the more than 1,250 families who will be assisted by the Salvation Army this Christmas began filing through the doors on Monday to pick up their gifts.

Leona Lewis said she’s grateful for the chance to provide a Christmas for her four children.

“I wasn’t able to get my kids anything,” she said. “I’m so thankful. I appreciate everyone who donated, because they are definitely helping my children.”

The Salvation Army’s Robert W. Harrell Jr. Physical Health and Education Center is hosting the toy shop and angel tree for the second year since the facility opened last September. Pre-approved families are able to come and pick out three toys per child, in addition to gifts like coloring books and dolls. Some were also picking up angel tree gifts of clothes and the like.

Volunteers helped customers shop for gifts.

“It’s something I like to do,” said Janet Kelly, who was among the helpers loading black trash bags with gifts, to hide them from the children when they get home. She said she has volunteered for several years.

“It’s my Christmas give-back.”

The toys were purchased by Toys for Tots with money donated to the Suffolk News-Herald Cheer Fund, among other sources.

“I can always kind of tell the first-timers, because they’re overwhelmed by it,” said Capt. Jim Shiels of the Salvation Army Suffolk Corps. “One mother this morning was in tears.”

Shiels said the amount of donations and volunteers has been overwhelming to him, too. This is his second Christmas in Suffolk, and he has said repeatedly that the city steps up at a level surpassing all other places he’s served, including some big cities.

“I’ve never seen the kind of volume we do here, and the volunteers,” he said. “It’s amazing the number of people that come out to put their hands to the wheel instead of just writing a check.”

But the checks are important too, he noted: “We couldn’t do this without the Cheer Fund, without the Joy Fund, without Toys for Tots.”

After the approximately 1,250 families who pre-registered are served, a still-growing waiting list will be helped as much as possible toward the end of this week, Shiels said.

“It kind of depends on how the toys last,” Shiels said.

Shiels said donations to the Cheer Fund and the Salvation Army are especially important this year, because kettle donations are down about 20 percent from this time last year.

“I think it’s probably still the economy,” Shiels said, giving his best guess at the reason for the decline. He also noted there has been one less collection day this year because of the late arrival of Thanksgiving.

“Across the state, a lot of the corps are down on kettles, so I think it’s just an overall economic issue right now,” Shiels said. “If I could figure out what it was, I’d try to fix it.”

But he noted each and every donation is appreciated, no matter how much or little.

“Every time there’s a quarter in there or there’s a dollar in there, that’s somebody who’s reached into their pocket and said, ‘I want to help,’ and that’s significant,” Shiels said.

The Suffolk News-Herald Cheer Fund, which purchases the toys that are given out at the toy shop, also is facing a slow start this year. So far, it has collected less than $8,000 of its $35,000 goal.

To donate to the Cheer Fund, send a check to P.O. Box 1220, Suffolk, VA 23434 or bring it to our office, 130 S. Saratoga St., from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

We will list your donation in the newspaper, but it can be marked “anonymous” if you like. Donations may be made in honor of or in memory of someone. If you bring the check to our office, we’ll even take your picture as you hand it to one of our staff.

For more information on the Cheer Fund, call 934-9616.