GROTON — Groton Cub Scout Pack 11 continues its holiday tradition of community service by collecting gifts to support “Shop for Your Kids Day,” an annual charity event run by Loaves & Fishes in Devens.

Scouts from Tigers through Webelos are collecting unwrapped presents by Thursday, Dec. 2, for “teens and tweens,” young people age 12 through 18 who are sometimes overlooked because donors often focus their attention on younger children.

In each of the past four years, the Cub Scouts have collected over 300 gifts, but the scouts have set their goals higher in these hard times. Loaves & Fishes projects a significant increase in the number of children it will be asked to serve this year, a trend the organization has experienced for the past few holiday seasons.

Debbie Roufos, volunteer coordinator for the Shop For Your Kids event for Loaves & Fishes, says that the ideal presents include gift cards from area stores ($20 value preferred), hand-held electronic games, personal music players, X-Box and PlayStation games, DVDs (action movies and comedies), iPod music docks, Red Sox items, sports equipment, perfume, handbags, girls wallets, pajamas, slippers, sweats, hairdryers, make-up kits, etc.

“The holiday season is a great time for Cub Scouts to do their best to help their own community and learn the true spirit of scouting,” says Pack 11 Cubmaster Matt Pisani. “The Scouts understand that many people in their hometowns that are less fortunate than they are.”

Loaves & Fishes ( www.loavesfishespantry.org) is a local organization operating out of Devens, so all of the donations stay in the area (Groton, Ayer, Devens, Harvard, Littleton, and Shirley). Shop For Your Kids Day allows parents who are registered clients at Loaves & Fishes to select gifts for their children, some of whom might otherwise go without presents during the holidays.

The Scouts invite the entire community to participate in their drive. The gifts will be collected in the cafeteria of Groton Middle School North on Thursday, Dec. 2, from 7 to 8 p.m., during Pack 11’s December meeting. They will be transported to Loaves & Fishes that evening for sorting. Shop For Your Kids Day will take place at the Devens Community Center on Dec. 13.

To make donations, the community is asked to bring unwrapped gifts to the pack meeting (send them in with a friendly neighborhood Cub Scout) or to contact Community Service Coordinator Jon Boroshok at 978-502-1055 to make other convenient arrangements.

GROTON — Groton Cub Scout Pack 11 continues its holiday tradition of community service by collecting gifts to support “Shop for Your Kids Day,” an annual charity event run by Loaves & Fishes in Devens.

Scouts from Tigers through Webelos are collecting unwrapped presents by Thursday, Dec. 2, for “teens and tweens,” young people age 12 through 18 who are sometimes overlooked because donors often focus their attention on younger children.

In each of the past four years, the Cub Scouts have collected over 300 gifts, but the scouts have set their goals higher in these hard times. Loaves & Fishes projects a significant increase in the number of children it will be asked to serve this year, a trend the organization has experienced for the past few holiday seasons.

Debbie Roufos, volunteer coordinator for the Shop For Your Kids event for Loaves & Fishes, says that the ideal presents include gift cards from area stores ($20 value preferred), hand-held electronic games, personal music players, X-Box and PlayStation games, DVDs (action movies and comedies), iPod music docks, Red Sox items, sports equipment, perfume, handbags, girls wallets, pajamas, slippers, sweats, hairdryers, make-up kits, etc.

“The holiday season is a great time for Cub Scouts to do their best to help their own community and learn the true spirit of scouting,” says Pack 11 Cubmaster Matt Pisani. “The Scouts understand that many people in their hometowns that are less fortunate than they are.”

Loaves & Fishes ( www.loavesfishespantry.org) is a local organization operating out of Devens, so all of the donations stay in the area (Groton, Ayer, Devens, Harvard, Littleton, and Shirley). Shop For Your Kids Day allows parents who are registered clients at Loaves & Fishes to select gifts for their children, some of whom might otherwise go without presents during the holidays.

The Scouts invite the entire community to participate in their drive. The gifts will be collected in the cafeteria of Groton Middle School North on Thursday, Dec. 2, from 7 to 8 p.m., during Pack 11’s December meeting. They will be transported to Loaves & Fishes that evening for sorting. Shop For Your Kids Day will take place at the Devens Community Center on Dec. 13.

To make donations, the community is asked to bring unwrapped gifts to the pack meeting (send them in with a friendly neighborhood Cub Scout) or to contact Community Service Coordinator Jon Boroshok at 978-502-1055 to make other convenient arrangements.