Marine Corps Sgt. Nekia Suggs has a special mission this holiday season, one that will spread warmth and cheer to thousands of needy children.

Readers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will be on the front lines with her.

Sgt. Suggs is coordinator of the region's Toys for Tots campaign, which is funded in large measure by the Post-Gazette's Goodfellows Fund, now in its 63rd year.

The sergeant was at a Toys for Tots fundraising event outside a Walmart last year when a small child approached with her piggy bank, emptying it into the donation box.

"I thought that was the sweetest thing. It really touched my heart," she said.

That is what the Goodfellows Fund is all about. Readers of all ages send in donations, large and small, and every dollar goes into brightening the Christmases of children who otherwise might do without.

Marines, assisted by volunteers recruited by Pittsburgh Cares, currently are receiving and sorting toys at a warehouse in Robinson. With so many families struggling in a time of economic hardship, the task this year and the need for your generosity are greater than ever.

More than 130 social services agencies have enrolled to obtain toys for the families they serve.

"There are a lot of children in the community who need help," said Towanda Young, volunteer coordinator of the Morningside Church of God in Christ food pantry in Garfield. The church hopes to distribute toys to about 90 children ages 12 and younger next month.

In addition, the Marines will host an open house on Dec. 18 and 19 in Downtown Pittsburgh to distribute toys. More information on the time and place will be forthcoming.

The Goodfellows Fund added a dimension last year, providing books to about 5,600 children for the first time.

Again this year, through a partnership among Post-Gazette Charities, Beginning with Books and The Salvation Army, children up to 8 years old in the Army's Treasures for Children program each will get a new, age-appropriate book. The books are purchased by Beginning with Books with donations to the Goodfellows Fund.

The books come with a pamphlet of tips for parents reading to their children.

Goodfellows was officially launched by the Post-Gazette in 1947, but its roots go back to 1894.

That was the year a Downtown worker, saddened by the prospect of underprivileged children having no Christmas, began to collect and refurbish toys for needy kids.

Over the ensuing years, that random act of kindness evolved into a program that has put toys under the tree for thousands of Western Pennsylvania children whose families are struggling.

For those families, job losses, health problems, personal crises and other hardships make every day a struggle to provide the basic necessities of life. Often, there's little or nothing left for extravagances like gifts.

Over the coming month, the Post-Gazette will publish stories about some of the families and children who are helped by Goodfellows, and about the agencies and people who help make the program a success.

We also publish daily acknowledgments of every donation made to Goodfellows.

You can make a tax-deductible donation to Goodfellows by using the coupon that accompanies this story, or by visiting www.post-gazette.com/goodfellows.

Sgt. Suggs, a Missouri native who arrived in Pittsburgh in September, is enthusiastic about her assignment.

"I'm one of those people who goes around the whole month of December singing Christmas songs," she said.

"I think it's the best time of the year."

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