Beermuda seeking donations for toy drive

The Beermuda, a bar and restaurant in New Kensington, is seeking donations for a toy drive.

The Beermuda has held an annual toy drive for years, with the goal of helping 16 local families, said Jadyn Sugajski, bar manager. But this year, the need is especially great.

“It’s all about children, especially with them being stuck inside and not being able to really socialize,” Sugajski said. “Sometimes playing with toys is their only escape. … It’s very important that we make Christmas for these kids so special.”

Despite the increased need amid the covid-19 pandemic, Sugajski said the restaurant has been hard-pressed to gather as many donations as previous years. Normally, she said, the dining room is packed “wall to wall” with wrapped gifts and toys. This year, there are hardly any presents at all.

Inside the bar’s dining area is a tree with paper snowman ornaments. Each snowman contains a list with gift ideas for a local child. At this point, Sugajski said, there are still 12 snowmen left — 12 children in need of gifts. The oldest is a 13-year-old girl, the youngest a 4-year-old boy.

Risks associated with indoor dining and gathering without masks, and last week’s closure of dining rooms altogether, means fewer people are coming inside, Sugajski said. They likely don’t even realize the fundraiser is happening.

“We’re limited on capacity, and right now we’re limited on indoor dining,” she said. “We haven’t had the flow of customers coming through the building that we’re able to spread the word to. And even with promoting it on Facebook, there are a lot of people out there who really don’t have the money to donate this year or have the money to donate as much as they did.”

The gifts requested range in size and price range — anything from dolls, teddy bears and board games to a 24-inch bike for an 11-year-old boy.

“With covid this year, a lot of the families aren’t able to buy anything, so it’s really special to us to be able to provide them with the gifts,” Sugajski said.

Sugajski said it’s pretty easy for people to get involved: The Beermuda has an easily accessible Amazon wish list, as well as gift registries at Target and Walmart.

Gifts can be dropped off at the bar or sent through the mail.