Toys For Tots - 2009

We attended the local Toys For Tots toy distribution drive and helped them out. This time, Luann, Katrina and I were joined by Teishalyn, Marcia, Michelle, Karen & Tony.

After the opening ceremonies, we went to our respective zones where we could help the parents select gift items for their children.

See this pile of stuffed animals? We'll check back on it periodically to see how things are going.

This is the play zone where any children that came with their parents, had to wait for them to make thier rounds in the building and come back to claim them from this spot. Meanwhile, the kids had a bunch of things to play with here while they waited.

And, they were able to see all of the bicycles in the 'bike-barn' right next to them.

Here is a view of some of the tables loaded with toys.

As you can see, the warehouse is quite large and there were many items to choose from. Take a look at the stack of puzzles there on the right, as we'll be checking up on them later.

Speaking of such, here is the stuffed animal table after we completed the first shift. The first shift ran from 8AM until noon time, then after lunch, the second shift ran from 1PM to 5 PM.

It was quite peaceful during lunch time, and it looks like the games are holding up so far...

As the boxes we were unloading were emptied, we also had this area to pull additional toys from.

The stack you see immediately to the left was for the age group of the boys table I was working at.

Which, by the way, is this table here. While I primarily worked this one, Katrina, Brad and Luann worked at the 'Stocking Stuffer' station, while Marcia went to Girls 3-6 years of age table and Teishalyn worked the 'Stuffed Animal' station. For the second shift, I remained at the Boys 11-13 table and was joined by Karen and Tony, while Luann moved over to Girls 7-9 and Michelle worked the Stocking Stuffer station as Teishalyn stayed at Stuffed Animals. Marcia had to head home because she accidentally brought her husband's keys to the function, and Katrina & Brad also headed home because they had Christmas lights to put up at his house for his mom.

After all of the hard work of moving toys around, it was time to break down the boxes and pack things up. The boxes on the table to the left is what is left of the games. Not many huh?

And now, the Boys 11-13 section is being packed up. Any of the toys that were not distributed will be moved to other events that are also giving out toys to children in order to give every toy a chance to make a child happy for Christmas.

Yep, just about done...

And one final look at the Stuffed Animals station before we go. It's amazing to see what was previously a mountain of artificial critters has been reduced to this small molehill.

Well, it has been a full day of back-breaking work, with both shifts having been grueling as we worked continuously to open boxes, put the toys on display, help the parents make their choices and redistribute any toys that were placed in the wrong boxes (it didn't happen often). The most rewarding thing about this is the 'collection of smiles' we have stored in the 'ole memory banks, which made all of the effort worth it.

A big thank you goes out to our friends and family members that donated their time and energy to help Toy For Tots provide toys for over 5000 children, just so they might have an even better Christmas than they may have otherwise. Great job, everybody!