Walk into the GiftsToGive toy department and you’ll find shelves lined with dolls, puzzles, board games, building blocks, action figures, musical instruments, and battery-powered toys — all waiting for the right child. But long before those toys reach a child’s hands, they go through a remarkable transformation.
Behind the scenes, every donated toy is carefully inspected, cleaned, organized, and matched with the pieces that make it complete. A toy shopping cart isn’t ready without groceries. A baby doll isn’t complete without clothes or a bottle. A musical keyboard isn’t placed on the shelf until every key has been tested. At GiftsToGive, the goal isn’t simply to give a child a toy — it’s to make sure every toy is truly “play-worthy.”
Helping make that happen are longtime GiftsToGive volunteers Louise and Michael Murphy. Together, the couple has spent years turning donated toys into gifts that children can immediately enjoy.
For Louise and Michael, giving back to others has been part of their lives long before they became familiar faces in the GiftsToGive toy department. Michael spent years as a Boy Scouts leader, helping young people learn the value of service, leadership, and community. Louise has found her own ways to give back throughout the years — as a teacher and assistant principal at Roosevelt Middle School, a CCD teacher, and through sewing projects for residents in a senior assisted living community.
Those experiences eventually led Louise to GiftsToGive. While working at Roosevelt Middle School, she began looking for opportunities for her students to give back to the community.
“We were looking for a place where we could bring students on field trips for a day of service and give them the opportunity to give back to the community,” Louise said. “I ended up visiting GiftsToGive and taking a tour of the place, which at the time was only a little cluster of volunteers. It was a great tour, and I learned a lot about the meaningful work that was being done. We then started bringing our students to volunteer there.”
As Louise’s involvement with GiftsToGive grew, she was also caring for her mother, Jeanne Roy. Determined to continue giving back while being there for her mom, Louise brought her along to GiftsToGive. Her mother would spend time with other volunteers and help in the doll section, making volunteering something they could share together.
“My mom liked being here,” Louise recalled. “She enjoyed being with the other ladies, and she felt that she was doing something meaningful when volunteering and connecting with the people at GiftsToGive. Some of my favorite memories with her include us volunteering together at GiftsToGive.”
When GiftsToGive moved from its original South End location to Acushnet, Louise continued volunteering wherever she was needed. She worked in books, clothing inspection, and the orders department, learning the ins and outs of the organization while offering her time and talents wherever they could make a difference.
It was during her time filling orders that she noticed an opportunity to improve the way toys were prepared for children.
“I remember when we moved to the Acushnet location. Everything was still in boxes, and everyone was trying to figure out where things were going to go,” Louise shared. “At that time, I volunteered in various departments. I worked in books, clothing inspection, and the orders department, where I was trained by longtime GiftsToGive volunteer Vivian Scrocca. It was when I was volunteering in the orders department that I began to get frustrated with the toy department.”
At the time, toys were often missing the accessories that made them complete and items were mixed together in different bins. For volunteers fulfilling orders, finding the right toy and all of the pieces that went with it was a challenge. Louise saw an opportunity to make the process easier.
She shifted her focus to the toy department, developing systems for sorting, cleaning, and organizing toys and matching sets so volunteers could quickly find complete items for the children they served.
“I tried to make it easier for the volunteers who were fulfilling orders to be able to go and get a toy that was complete and in the correct space. That way there were no complications, and it could be done successfully and in sufficient time,” Louise said.
As Louise became more involved at GiftsToGive, her husband, Michael, eventually began volunteering alongside her. What began as a visit to see what Louise was doing quickly turned into a passion of his own.
“I came by to visit Louise and figure out what was taking up most of her time. During this visit I learned about certain areas and spaces where I could be of help so that she could focus on other parts of the toy department,” Michael said.
Today, they volunteer side by side, each bringing their own strengths and a healthy dose of humor to the toy department.
“I really like that we get to do this together,” Louise said with a smile. “Originally Michael just came in to see what I was doing, but then he grew to love it, and he’s actually the one who wants to come in more times, even on a Sunday morning.”
For Louise, Michael’s support has meant far more than just another set of helping hands. It has been part of what has allowed her to continue giving her time to GiftsToGive while caring for her mother and being there for her family.
“I couldn’t have volunteered here if it wasn’t for him and my kids,” she said emotionally. “He was so good to my mom and being there to help take care of her. I wouldn’t have been able to volunteer as much as I would have if it wasn’t for the support of my family.”
The couple laughs that they occasionally “get on each other’s nerves,” but over the years, they’ve developed a rhythm that makes them an effective team. Michael has become the department’s electronics expert, carefully testing buttons, keys, sounds, and batteries before declaring a toy ready for a child. Louise, meanwhile, has made it her mission to ensure every toy is “play-worthy,” taking the time to find missing pieces, craft baby blankets and doll accessories, and restore toys so children can use them right away.
Michael’s attention to detail is especially apparent when he works with musical toys.
“So, when we get a musical instrument like a guitar, I don’t want to give a kid a guitar if it doesn’t stay in tune,” Michael said. “That’s an annoying thing, and so I try to make sure the items are in good shape and respond the way they are supposed to before it gets into the hands of a child. That way when the kids receive it, they will actually enjoy playing with it.”
For Michael, the routine is part of the fun. He even brings batteries home and tests them while watching his favorite shows, making sure they will have enough life left to power the toys.
While Michael focuses on making sure toys work the way they should, Louise looks at the bigger picture by finding the missing pieces that can transform an incomplete toy into something a child can truly play with.
“A lot of kids don’t have their own personal toys that they can call their own,” Louise said. “Being able to give a toy to a child who may not have one, or at least one they can call their own, is an incredible feeling.”
She also believes that having all the pieces matters to the way children experience play.
“Kids are smart and can pick up if something isn’t right,” she said. “It does have an effect on how the kids will play with the toy and the imagination part of the experience. What does roleplay look like if the kids don’t have the necessary tools they need to play?”
Michael sees the impact in much the same way.
“It’s important because it allows them to have something of their own and for them to know that there is somebody out there that cares enough to give them something,” he said.
The toy department isn’t just a place where Louise and Michael spend their time — it’s a place filled with memories, surprises, and moments of joy. Louise especially enjoys seeing those memories come alive among younger volunteers.
“One of the most fun things is when I hear kids who are volunteering and helping clean toys say things like, ‘ I remember having this toy as a kid,’ I think the best thing is hearing young people talking about the toys that they love or finding a toy that they remember playing with and hearing their memories,” Louise said.
Their time at GiftsToGive has also given Louise and Michael something beyond the opportunity to serve children: a place to build friendships, stay active, and remain connected to their community.
“I would be at a loss right now if I didn’t have this place to go to,” Louise said. “Because I find joy here, and I have made so many good friendships here. We have a really tight group. Every volunteer is very nice and helpful. I’m not just involved in GiftsToGive to do toys for kids; I’m also in it for the social part of it.”
That sense of community extends beyond the volunteers themselves. Louise has watched GiftsToGive grow into an incredible resource that connects donated goods, volunteers, and local children in need.
“I think GiftsToGive as a whole has become a well-oiled and well-organized machine that helps so many kids. It has become a real community resource,” Louise shared. “As far as the toy department, although it looks chaotic, when you see what comes out at the other end of the process, the chaos starts to make sense.”
At GiftsToGive, volunteering does not have to look the same for everyone. The couple encourages people who are looking to give back to find an organization and role that fit their interests, strengths, and lives.
“If you have time and talents to give, you should do it,” Louise said. “I try to live by that mindset. It’s what drives me to do things in life.”
For Michael, that willingness to contribute is part of a larger responsibility we all share — to recognize where we can help and do what we can to make life a little easier for others.
“There are so many cracks in the world, and we can fill some of them to make life a little easier,” Michael explained. “We can do what we can to be the best versions of ourselves. Being here and doing this work gives us the opportunity to fill some of those cracks.”
Story By: (Marissa Sebastiao)