BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Debbie Klotz's favorite event during Christmas was the Joe’s Kids Toy Party, where folks pay a cover charge for food and entertainment and bring a new, unwrapped toy for a child in need.
The drive is named after Joseph Foley, who was murdered at age 39 in his Fountain Hill home in 1998.
Foley’s brother Jim started the toy drive that same Christmas season to honor his brother, whom Jim said was loved by all and loved children — which made Joe Foley’s job as a recreational therapist at the former Allentown State Hospital easy.
Debbie Klotz attended all 25 toy parties since then and surely would have made it to the next one this Dec. 7 at Bru Daddy’s in Allentown, to do her part in helping a child smile at Christmas.
Klotz, of Lower Macungie Township, passed away Nov. 22 after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 66.
Seeking toy donations
It's no secret that Debbie Klotz, a recently retired tax associate, had a passion for the toy drive.
"Every year, she bought two toys for boys and two toys for girls," said daughter Jenn Klotz. "She loved shopping, and this was another way for her to give back to the community. She also knew and loved Joe Foley. He had a personality larger than life."
Jenn Klotz said her grandfather was first to become friends with Joe Foley through the local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which sponsors the drive.
"Then Debbie’s granddaughter Jordyn, who grew up attending the Toy Party and is now 21, sobbing and squeezing me tight, said, ‘Did you see all the toys?’”Jim Foley, toy drive organizer
When the family was planning Debbie Klotz's funeral, Jenn Klotz included in the obituary, that, in lieu of flowers, monetary donations could be made to the toy charity to his late-brother's toy collection event.
Unbeknownst to Jim Foley, the obituary also included the option of bringing an unwrapped toy to her mother’s viewing on Nov. 26.
When Foley and his wife arrived at the funeral home, the array of new, unwrapped toys brought them to tears.
Funeral Director Matthew G. Brand of J.S. Burkholder Funeral Home, Inc. of Allentown placed cardboard boxes wrapped with Christmas paper standing at the ready at the entrance. They were filling up quickly.
“Did you see all the toys?” Jenn Klotz asked the couple.
“Then Debbie’s granddaughter Jordyn, who grew up attending the Toy Party and is now 21, sobbing and squeezing me tight, said, 'Did you see all the toys?’” said Jim Foley in an email Wednesday.
“Every one of the Ferguson-Klotz families, as I spoke with family members, commented with a smile, ‘Did you see all the toys?’" he said.
Giving needy kids a brighter Christmas
Foley "was delighted to see that in this time of a tragic loss, the family was able to feel a small amount of joy knowing that, in Debbie's memory, needy kids would have a brighter Christmas.
“I can't thank the Ferguson-Klotz families enough for their continued love and support of Joe's Kids,” Jim Foley said.
You can donate a toy for a child in need or make a monetary contribution by Dec. 7 before Catholic Charities of the Allentown Diocese arranges deliveries to children starting Dec. 10 to:
Joe’s Kids, C/O Joseph Mark Foley Children’s Charities Fund, 6804 Anthony Road, Bethlehem, PA 18017.
The upcoming toy party is open to the public.
