BROCKTON -- Catholic Charities South partnered with other area organizations to make Christmas a little brighter for families in need at Brockton's City of Champions Annual Holiday Toy Drive at The Shaw's Center, Dec. 21.

Catholic Charities South partnered with the Office of Mayor Linda M. Balzotti, The Shaw's Center, The Brockton Rox, The Salvation Army, United Way of Greater Plymouth County, Metro South Chamber of Commerce, The Rotary Club of Brockton, and The Charity Guild to distribute Christmas gifts to approximately 1,600 families in need.

"We are honored to work alongside such a dedicated group of local organizations that are truly committed to the families of Brockton," said Deborah Kincade Rambo, President of Catholic Charities.

"Together and with the help of the greater community, we hope to reach more Brockton families this holiday season," Rambo said.

Area parishes collected toys, and companies and individual donors helped reach out to families.

The City of Champions Holiday Toy Drive provided parents and caregivers an opportunity to select gifts for their children at Christmas.

"By pooling our resources, we are able to help a greater number of families have a brighter holiday season," said Brockton mayor Linda M. Balzotti.

"It is a great pleasure to see all these local agencies come together for the community," she said.

Michael Canina, President of The Shaw's Center and The Brockton Rox expressed his thanks to the organizations that participated.

"We can't thank Catholic Charities enough for their efforts in helping the kids of our city at this Christmas time," said Canina, "We know that every year we see more and more kids with less and less opportunities and without this collaboration it wouldn't happen. We are honored to host this event again at our facility."

HarborOne Credit Union also supported the annual event this year.

"In these challenging economic times, HarborOne wants to do whatever it can to reach out to the those in need, especially the children," said Jim Rice, HarborOne senior vice president of marketing.