NORTHAMPTON — One of the more substantial annual contributions to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund comes from a business celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

“It’s something we can do — give to those less fortunate, put a smile on children’s faces,” Florence Casket Co. President Bill Hogan said of the company’s donation, which tallied up this year to $2,648.78.

He said the tradition of giving to the Toy Fund began 30 years ago when Hogan’s grandparents Russell and Priscilla Christenson ran the business, which now employs approximately 50 people.

“We ask all the employees if they’re interested in donating, and most are,” Hogan said. “The company matches whatever they give.”

Named after a former business manager at the Gazette, the Toy Fund began in 1933 to help families in need during the Depression. Today, the fund distributes vouchers worth $50 to qualifying families for each child from age 1 to 14.

The fund is a focus of the Florence Casket Company’s charitable giving at this time of year. The company’s donation is the largest contribution to the Toy Fund this season.

“It’s near and dear to our hearts,” Hogan said.

Florence Casket Company is America’s oldest continually operating casket manufacturer, according to the company’s website. The business moved to Northampton in 1873 from Bristol, Vermont. Originally, it manufactured oak caskets and furniture, and later moved to making only caskets.

The company was owned by four generations of Bosworths before it was sold to the Christensons in 1958. It’s now being operated by the third generation of Christensons.

To be eligible for the Toy Fund, families must live in any Hampshire County community except Ware, or in the southern Franklin County towns of Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately, Shutesbury and Leverett, and in Holyoke in Hampden County.

The following stores are participating this year: A2Z Science and Learning Store, 57 King St., Northampton; Blue Marble/Little Blue, 150 Main St., Level 1, Northampton; High Five Books, 141 N. Main St., Florence; The Toy Box, 201 N. Pleasant St., Amherst; Comics N More, 64 Cottage St., Easthampton; Once Upon A Child,1458 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Plato’s Closet, 1472 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, 227 Russell St., Hadley; Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St., Village Commons, South Hadley; The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 W. Bay Road, Amherst; World Eye Bookshop, 134 Main St., Greenfield; Holyoke Sporting Goods Co., and 1584 Dwight St. No. 1, Holyoke.