For weeks, the gifts came in.

"We are so excited to have this many toys to give to local children in need throughout Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. This is huge. This is wonderful," said Joanna Loomis, of the North County Initiative.

And for weeks, the gifts piled up.

"Blues Clues, glow racers and more Blues Clues,” Loomis said, sorting toys.

It’s all part of a holiday program from the Northern New York Community Foundation’s LEAD Council.

The council not only collected gifts on this day, but there are a ton more to give to local children. It also took in monetary donations and gave that money to three local charities to help even more kids across this region.

All the money that was collected? Well, the Northern New York Community Foundation doubled it.

"Just knowing that the gift will be doubled really can make a huge impact," Loomis said. "There are so many children in need in our community, right here in our backyard. LEAD and NNYCF want to make sure that we take care of those kids."

However, it is so much more than just gifts. The $6,000 collected through this program will again, be split between three agencies, the Christmas Crusade for Kids in Watertown, the Christmas Sharing Holiday Assistance program in Lowville and the Potsdam Holiday Fund.

That money will go to not only gifts and toys, but food boxes, clothes, winter jackets and more.

"This is really important to make sure that all kids in the North Country can experience the joy of the holidays," Loomis said.

Despite COVID-19 concerns, everything, the more than 300 toys, the clothes, the food, all of it was delivered in time for Christmas and will help more than 1,000 families here in the North Country.

The Community Action Planning Council in Watertown, the Lowville Food Pantry and Prenatal Council in Gouverneur helped deliver the toys — making this a true region wide effort.