Hundreds Of Toys Collected By 'Elfie's House' For Barnegat, Stafford

BARNEGAT, NJ — Dawn Castronuovo spent years as a single mom, raising four children. During the holidays, she remembered how the community would come together and help her and her children.

Now, her children are all grown and it's her turn to give back. Through her newly-started organization "Elfie's House," Castronuovo is collecting toys to be distributed to all the children in need throughout Barnegat and Stafford.

"It just swelled into this beautiful thing," Castronuovo told Patch.

Originally, she planned for it to be a small thing in her driveway. She and her husband decorate their Deck Street home for Christmas each year - and they go all out, she said, even winning best-decorated in a WOBM contest.

Under the original plan, Castronuovo would wear an elf costume, put a box in the driveway and hand out candy canes. But it quickly grew much bigger.

Her husband works in Manahawkin, and "everyone knows him," she said. An employee at State Tire & Auto Center, he asked his boss if he could put a donation box there, and he said yes. Castronuovo posted on her private Facebook page, too, and that's when things really got rolling.

"Within three days, I had, like, 30 gifts at my door," she said. She said she got 66 total in just the first week.

As of last night (Nov. 14), Castronuovo said that she has gotten 214 toys. Her initial goal was to get 100. Now, it's 500. "It's amazing," she said.

The gifts she's collected will be split between the Barnegat PBA and Stafford PBA, she said. They will then distribute them to families in need.

Castronuovo doesn't want Elfie's House to just be a toy drive - more like a community organization, she said.

She also wants to keep going with the toy drive. She started small since she wasn't sure what the response would be. But Castronuovo hopes to expand next year to more towns than just Barnegat and Stafford.

"What started out as just a conversation between my husband and myself blossomed," Castronuovo said.

She noted that during this time especially, families who did not struggle before are struggling. She also emphasized that teens and tweens need stuff, not just small children, as those groups are often overlooked.

For those who want to help, follow the Elfie's House Facebook page for the most up-to-date information.