On Saturday Dec. 7, Wareham Turning Point volunteer Jerry Neal carefully picked through tables filled with toys, marking a family’s requested gifts off a list as he went.

Neal was one of several volunteers in charge of organizing donations for the Holiday Magic program, which provides toys, gifts, clothing and basic-need items to families in need during the holiday season.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas Turning Point collects donations from throughout the community, including the Police and Fire Departments, church groups, businesses and individuals. This year over 200 families and 496 children will receive Christmas gifts from the Holiday Magic program.

Volunteers use the donated items to fulfill the Christmas wishes of about half the families. The other half are sponsored directly by either a group or individual who purchase everything on a family’s list and deliver it to the organization. If a sponsor doesn’t get every item, volunteers pull from the donation pile.

Turning Point Executive Director Shirley Santos said the organization tries to fill families' holiday “needs and wants.”

“We also always have an extra toy or a book that'll go in there,” Santos said.

On Saturday volunteers buzzed around the basement of the Turning Point building on 3 Viking Drive, organizing clothes, dolls, action figures, board games, balls, bikes and more.

Once organized, volunteers match items to lists, packaging everything together and labeling the finished gifts with a number that corresponds to a family.

On the first floor of the building, donations from sponsors are sifted through, ensuring every item on the family’s list is present and supplementing any missing items with donations.

“We’re like little elves,” volunteer Anne Condon said with a laugh.

Finally, the finished numbered bags are taken outside to a trailer where they are ready for pick-up once the receiving family is notified.

Condon said the “hottest items” this year were toys from the children's cartoon Bluey and the Pixar movie Moana.

“I’m always impressed and amazed at the generosity this time of year and the appreciation a lot of people have for receiving things like this,” said volunteer Brian Hart. “It's pretty special, it is magical.”

Hart remembered one of his favorite moments from the Holiday Magic program—when he kept a young boy entertained while another volunteer quietly loaded a bike into the family's car.

“I’ve been doing it for a few years now and I just love doing it, seeing the smile on the parents face knowing there's going to be something under that tree, that’s what it's all about,” Hart said.