Final push underway for Toys for Tots
Thursday night was one of the final pushes to stock up for the annual Toys for Tots distribution event coming up next weekend in Butler.
The Berkshire Hathaway Chuck Swidzinski Team organized the 10th annual toy drive at the Brick House in Butler, where the admission fee was an unwrapped toy.
Jared Sullivan, a listing agent with Berkshire Hathaway Chuck Swidzinski Team, said the idea for the event is to promote a tangible outlet for the holiday spirit of giving.
“Christmas is a great time for everyone to come together and laugh,” Sullivan said. “We want to do that and also make some kids happy.”Butler's Toys for Tots is coordinated through a Marine division by Chad Krumpe. Every year, the organization gets thousands of toys to about 2,500 children in Butler and Clarion counties. The distribution takes place at the Clearview Mall early next week, and Krumpe said the organization is able to get enough toys due to community initiatives like the one Thursday. “Butler County does a wonderful job for us,” Krumpe said.
Krumpe also said the mall donates a space to allow the toy pickup to take place over the week.People shuffled in to the restaurant Thursday evening carrying toys of all shapes and sizes under their arms, from race car tracks to stuffed animals. Near the back wall of the building, a tower of boxes reached almost to the height of an adjacent Christmas tree.Sullivan said the organization is pleased to receive any toy donation, but gifts for certain age demographics come in handy.
“Ages 10 to 13 is a really tough range to buy for and sometimes they are very limited on what they can get for kids,” Sullivan said.According to Krumpe, children registered to receive gifts through the distribution get one “big” toy, along with three or four smaller toys, which can include puzzles, crafts, games and a stocking stuffer, all that vary depending on age.Krumpe has been involved in Toys for Tots for years, his grandfather having been a founding member of the Marine Corps League in Butler.
Although it takes a lot of work, Krumpe said he enjoys leading the effort.“As a kid, I joined and would help load up presents and give them out,” he said. “It just kind of snowballed from there, and I am still doing it.”According to Krumpe, the organization is concluding its toy drive Sunday because the volunteers need to have everything ready for Monday.For information, visit butler-pa.toysfortots.org.
