Community replenishes gifts after theft

BRIDGEPORT — The community has rallied around the city’s Toys for Tots organization after the theft of about $80,000 worth of donated toys for area children from families in need.

But those collecting the toys are also warning of what might be a scam related to the theft: a Facebook post in Iowa appears to be directing people to donate there.

“Someone took our story from Facebook and they ... changed the address,” said Jerry Martinez, co-director of Toys for Tots in Bridgeport. He said the post was copied verbatim, but the donation link did not bring people to the Bridgeport link.

He said Toys for Tots in Bridgeport has been in touch with Facebook and law enforcement in Iowa to get the post taken down.

“Sometimes it feels like there’s always something,” Martinez said.

People and organizations have been generous in helping replace goods stolen Dec. 1 from the storage bins behind Greater Bridgeport Christian Fellowship, where Toys for Tots had been keeping the gifts.

“Re-raising the funds is going pretty good,” said Martinez. “We got a lot of community support. A lot individuals are donating using Amazon and Wal-Mart.”

The church is still working to get its stock of toys back to where they had it — and then some, Martinez said. Initially, he said, the organization was servicing

1,500 families, but that number has grown to roughly 1,600.

“Like always, more families are coming to us and asking for help,” he said.

At the downtown Christmas tree lighting on Monday, the city of Bridgeport raised nearly $2,000 in donations with the help of the fire department to purchase toys for the Toys for Tots organization.

And a special push from

1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Greater Bridgeport Christian Fellowship was expected to add cash and toy donations to replenish its inventory.

Following Sunday’s event, Martinez said, the organization will have a better idea of what to do moving forward.

“We’ll figure out how many families we’ll be able to service on Dec. 15,” he said, the expected distribution date for this year.

But if there are still more families in need of help from the organization, he said, they’ll continue to raise more and do an additional toy distribution on Dec. 22.

Martinez said the organization is grateful for the community support.

“The people definitely are rallying around us,” he said. “We’ve had a big group of supporters.

Bridgeport police have identified a man named Infinite Seven as a person of interest in the Toys for Tots theft. It was unclear if there were any other suspects involved. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Bridgeport police at 203-576-8477.