The week before Christmas can be terribly stressful for families living paycheck to paycheck. Shel McAfee knows this all too well, which is why her spare bedroom is overflowing with donated toys for parents to pick up—even on Christmas Day.

Penobscot Bay Pilot covered her story last April. McAfee opens her home to strangers 365 days a year. “If my car is in the driveway, I’m home,” she said. “Feel free to knock on my door.”

Despite her disabilities, she is dedicated to making sure parents have something to give their children for the holidays. “I have people at my house almost every single day, whether they’re dropping something off or picking something up,” she said.

A grassroots network exists in the Midcoast to try to help parents in multiple counties. “There are a couple of women in the area, Laurie Jillson of The King’s Closet in Rockland and Ashley Sorrentino in Belfast, who also do what I do,” said McAfee. “There are a group of us who try to help people with clothing and household items.”

Visions of huge Christmas trees piled with toys and gifts underneath permeate holiday commercials, ads and movies, which can make for a very disappointing and unrealistic experience for children whose parents struggle to buy toys with what little they have leftover from bills. It’s a keen sensation McAfee felt as well, raising her own children as a single mother.

Despite the fact McAfee is often hampered by her own medical issues and often has no help moving, sorting and organizing clothing and toys, she does not let her physical limitations close her operation down. “Absolutely not,” she said. “I put myself in the position that so many of these parents are in this time of year. The look on a mother’s face when you give her something that she can give her child, is why I won’t close.”

Oftentimes, parents will bring their children with them when picking out free toys. “The only rule I have for the children when they come in is I tell them you have to mind your manners,” she said. “I never get tantrums. I get a lot of pregnant mothers, wonderful women, who hold their little one’s hands as they wander through the room, asking politely if they can have a toy. I give them whatever they want.”

Unlike a formalized agency, McAfee requires no application or even identification. “I don’t even need to know what your story is, if you need it honey, it’s yours,” she said. The only thing she can’t do is hold specific items. At her home, it’s first come, first served.

 McAfee prefers electronic contact through the Facebook page when arranging for a pickup. Anyone who wants to donate items or browse items for pick up can go to All Free Midcoast.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com