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Christmas in New London

Plach pickup filled with donations

By Scott Bellile


Community members filled a Chevy Silverado pickup bed with toys to help families in need ensure their children receive Christmas gifts.

Plach Automotive in New London recently held a four-week campaign to collect toys plus money to purchase toys for New London’s Community Cupboard. The campaign is in its third year helping the Community Cupboard.

“The support from the community is just overwhelming this year,” said Jaime Radtke, Plach Automotive receptionist. “I couldn’t believe how many people brought in donations—bags and bags of toys.”

On the fundraising end, Plach customers bought 377 oil changes from which Plach donated $5 each time. The oil changes raised $1,885 for toy shopping.

Customers also tossed $1,120 into a cash box, more than double the $497 they gave in 2014.

Those two amounts combined raised $3,005 for Plach to go toy shopping this year, $658 more than the $2,347 used to shop last year.

“We helped a large amount of families with the toys that Plach donated,” Community Cupboard Director Kim Ebert said. “We really appreciate their help. They made a difference in a lot of children’s lives on Christmas morning this year.”

Ebert declined to release the number of families that benefitted from Plach’s contributions, saying she wants all donors to the Community Cupboard to understand their contributions are valued whether they give one toy or multiple.

The Community Cupboard food pantry, located in the Washington Center, lets parents take home to their kids up to three toys at no charge. Items such as pajama pants, jackets and fishing gear are also presented as gift options for families with teens.

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