Planting the Seed Foundation Toy Drive celebrates 53rd year!

By-Hank Stolz

Photo-Submitted

WORCESTER, MA– Molly McCullough from the Planting the Seed Foundation joined Talk of the Commonwealth to share the remarkable story behind one of Worcester’s most beloved holiday traditions. What started as a simple conversation at a house party 53 years ago has grown into a major charitable effort that supports thousands of Worcester-area children every holiday season.

At the heart of their mission is the Annual Holiday Toy Drive — providing gifts to kids from newborns through age 18. McCullough emphasized that while toys for little ones are usually abundant, there is a significant need for donations geared toward teenagers. Items like basketballs, hygiene kits, beauty products, and gift cards can make a huge difference for older kids who are sometimes forgotten.

The event also includes a hugely popular holiday party. Each year, a massive pile of donated toys grows in the center of the room as hundreds of generous community members arrive.

“It is truly heartwarming… no matter how many years I’ve been going or I’ve seen that pile, it just hits you that people are so generous and there is such a great need.” — Molly McCullough

📅 Thursday, December 11th
📍 Worcester Fitness — 440 Grove Street, Worcester
⏱ Starting at 5:30 PM

Games for Good Conference Comes to Clark University

By-Hank Stolz

Photo- Submitted

WORCESTER, MA-This weekend, Clark University will host the inaugural Games for Good Conference, a two-day academic event dedicated to the expanding world of serious games—video games intentionally designed for education, therapy, and social change.

Paul Cotnoir, Dean of the Becker School of Design & Technology at Clark, joined Talk of the Commonwealth to preview the conference and discuss how Clark’s program is helping lead the field.

Cotnoir explained that serious games are quickly becoming powerful tools in mental health, especially when used as adjuncts to traditional therapy. For children on the autism spectrum, for example, game-based environments can provide structure, repetition, and engagement in ways traditional methods cannot always match.

He emphasized that the sheer scale of the global gaming audience—now more than 3 billion people, most of them adults—makes the medium uniquely influential. “When you have that many people interacting with games,” Cotnoir noted, “you have a tremendous opportunity to do good.”

The Games for Good Conference will take place Saturday, Nov. 22, and Sunday, Nov. 23, at Clark’s Center for Media Arts, Computing & Design, located at 7 Hawthorne Street in Worcester. The event will bring together researchers, developers, educators, and students who are exploring how game design can address real-world challenges.

As Cotnoir put it, this first-ever gathering is “a chance to show how meaningful, intentional game design can improve lives and strengthen communities.”