NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - Peter Leone was busy making deli sandwiches and
working the register at his Newtown General Store when he got a phone
call from Alaska. It was a woman who wanted to give him her credit card
number.
"She said, 'I'm paying for the next $500 of food
that goes out your door,'" Leone said. "About a half hour later another
gentleman called, I think from the West Coast, and he did the same thing
for $2,000."
Money, toys, food and other gifts have poured in
from around the world as Newtown mourns the loss of 20 children and six
school employees at Sandy Hook Elementary School a little over a week
ago. The 20-year-old shooter, Adam Lanza, killed his mother before
attacking the school then killing himself. Police don't know what set
off the massacre.
Saturday, all the town's children were invited to
the Edmond Town Hall in Newtown to choose from among hundreds of toys
donated by individuals, organizations and toy stores - and funeral
services for victims continued.
The giving is a way for people beyond Newtown to deal with their own grief over the shooting.
"It's their way if grieving," said Bobbi Veach, who
was fielding donations at the town hall building. "They say, 'I feel so
bad, I just want to do something to reach out.' That's why we
accommodate everybody we can."
The basement of the building resembled a toy store,
with piles of stuffed penguins, Barbie dolls, board games, soccer balls
and other fun gifts. All the toys were inspected and examined by
bomb-sniffing dogs before being sorted and put on card tables. The
children could choose whatever they wanted.
"But we're not checking IDs at the door," said Tom
Mahoney, the building administrator, who's in charge of handling gifts.
"If there is a child from another town who comes in need of a toy, we're
not going to turn them away."
The United Way of Western Connecticut said the
official fund for donations had $2.6 million in it Saturday morning.
Others sent envelopes stuffed with cash to pay for coffee at the general
store, and a shipment of cupcakes arrived from a gourmet bakery in
Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Postal Service reported a six-fold increase in
mail in town and set up a unique post office box to handle it. The
parcels come decorated with rainbows and hearts drawn by school
children.
Some letters arrive in packs of 26 identical
envelopes - one for each family of the children and staff killed or
addressed to the "First Responders" or just "The People of Newtown." One
card arrived from Georgia addressed to "The families of 6 amazing women
and 20 beloved angels." Many contain checks.
"This is just the proof of the love that's in this country," said Postmaster Cathy Zieff.
The funerals for the victims were wrapping up after
a wrenching week of farewells in Newtown. Services were scheduled
Saturday in Connecticut for Josephine Gay, 7, and Ana Marquez-Greene, 6.
A service was also planned in Utah for 6-year-old Emilie Parker.
Many people have placed flowers, candles and
stuffed animals at makeshift memorials that have popped up all over
town. Others are stopping by the Edmond Town Hall on Main Street to drop
off food, or toys, or cash. About 60,000 teddy bears have been donated,
said Ann Benoure, a social services caseworker who was working at the
town hall.
"There's so much stuff coming in," Mahoney, of
Newtown, said. "To be honest, it's a bit overwhelming; you just want to
close the doors and turn the phone off."
Mahoney said the town of some 27,000 with a median
household income of more than $111,000 plans to donate whatever is left
over to shelters or other charities.
Sean Gillespie of Colchester, who attended Sandy
Hook Elementary, and Lauren Minor, who works at U.S. Foodservice in
Norwich, came from Calvary Chapel in Uncasville with a car filled with
food donated by U.S. Foodservice. But they were sent elsewhere because
the refrigerators in Newtown were overflowing with donations.
"We'll find someplace," Gillespie said. "It won't go to waste."
In addition to the town's official fund, other
private funds have been set up. Former Sandy Hook student Ryan Kraft,
who once babysat Lanza, set up a fund with other alumni that has
collected almost $150,000. It is earmarked for the Sandy Hook PTA.
Rabbi Shaul Praver of Congregation Adath Israel is
raising money for a memorial to the victims. He said one man wrote a
check for $52,000 for that project.
Several colleges, including the University of
Connecticut, have set up scholarship funds to pay for the educations of
students at Sandy Hook and the relatives of the victims.
Town officials have not decided yet what to do with
all the money. A board of Newtown community leaders is being
established to determine how it is most needed and will be best
utilized, said Isabel Almeida with the local United Way, which has
waived all its administrative fees related to the fund.
She said some have wondered about building a new
school for Sandy Hook students if the town decides to tear the school
down, but that decision has not been made.
And while the town is grateful for all the support,
Almeida said, it has no more room for those gifts. Instead, she
encouraged people to donate to others in memory of the Sandy Hook
victims.
"Send those teddy bears to a school in your
community or an organization that serves low income children, who are in
need this holiday season, and do it in memory of our children," she
said.
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