Newtown official: We're overwhelmed, so please stop mailing us packages

(CNN) -- Newtown, Connecticut, has received so many gifts since the December 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary that a local official is kindly asking people to stop sending them. The mail office and workers just can't handle the volume.

"Our hearts are warmed by the outpouring of love and support from all corners of our country and world," Newtown First Selectman Patricia Llodra said.

She is asking anyone wishing to give the town condolences for the shooting, which left 20 children and eight adults dead, to donate to needy children and families in their own community.

"Thank you for understanding our message of appreciation and our need to now defer gifts to others in need," Llodra said.

On Thursday morning, Newtown's website still featured the Sandy Hook Donations Fund, which is organized through United Way of Western Connecticut.

United Way partnered with Newtown Savings Bank to create the fund, which will aid affected families.

Adam Lanza, 20, took guns belonging to his mother, Nancy Lanza, and shot her as she slept in her bed. Then he went to Sandy Hook Elementary, where he gunned down 20 children and six staff members before killing himself.