Toys for Tots helps families fill stockings during holiday season
CENTER TWP — With costs on the rise and Christmas around the corner, the Toys for Tots Butler chapter is stepping in to help families make sure their children have happy holidays ahead.
The program began distributing thousands of toys it acquired over the past year to more than 1,100 registrants across three days: Wednesday, Dec. 10, Thursday and Friday.
The organization’s coordinator, Matt Thurner, said they saw more registrants than last year and expects to come fairly close to 3,000 total children impacted this year.
“We’re doing about 80 to 100 people per hour, and that’s just registrants,” Thurner said.
By Thursday afternoon, a little over halfway through the whole distribution, he said the energy among volunteers at Clearview Mall was still high.
“We had a new group yesterday that came in, and it was the first time they did it. They were all like, ‘this is very humbling,’ and they’re definitely coming back. Most of my people that are here are the repeaters,” Thurner said.
Greg Adams and Don Greene are two of the volunteers who used shopping carts to help recipients get gifts to their cars. While Adams has been participating for about 10 years or so, Greene said it was his first time.
“We’re getting through about 3,000 kids this year, about. And the way it’s set up, it’s nice, because everyone has to register ahead of time. If they want a bike, they can request it ahead of time,” Greene said Thursday.
Lauren Zanella, a teacher at Karns City Area School District, brought herself and eight Honors Society students to help registrants through the experience. The distribution, once again, let registrants come inside and “shop” for their loved ones, which Thurner said he thinks is a benefit for everyone.
“That way, it’s not us picking for the kids. It’s the parents who know the kids the best. It’s hard for us with what kids ask for, because we only have what the donators give us,” he said.
Hannah Weaver, one of the registrants, walked out of the storefront with a bag of goodies for her two children. She said the organization was a big help toward getting Christmas gifts this year, as she has had recurring car trouble.
“I took the bus here, fought the weather, and now I’m just waiting on my ride,” she said while sitting on a bench.
She said she appreciated getting to actually choose what her children will get, especially as they get older and develop their interests.
“I think it was easy,” Weaver said. “If I know they wouldn’t like it, I just told them to pick something different. I don’t want to be stuck with stuff my kids won’t like,” she said.
While many of the toys come from collection boxes dotted across the program’s service area, Thurner mentioned that a significant amount of the toys and financial help comes from community partners.
“Butcherine’s Distributor up in Boyers, Chuck Swidzinski’s Realty group, Peoples Gas was a big donor and Westinghouse was another big donor,” he said, listing off just a few partners the organization has.
One of the four storefronts of Clearview Mall that the distribution occupied was dedicated to bikes, which Thurner said came from Al’s Bike Drive and Berkshire Hathaway.
“It helps out tremendously, we wouldn’t be able to do that without them,” he said.
The program will have a list of activities throughout next year, primarily kicking off in the spring and stretching all the way until the holidays.
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Karns City student and volunteer Nicole Huff, left, helps Nick Martinkovich, right, pick out toys during the Toys For Tots distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Karns City student and volunteer Abigail Galan, left, helps Hannah Weaver pick out toys during the Toys For Tots distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Karns City student and volunteer Abigail Galan, left, helps Hannah Weaver pick out toys during the Toys For Tots distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Shannon Russell loads a toy into her bag during the Toys For Tots distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Karns City student and volunteer Nicole Huff, right, helps Nick Martinkovich, left, pick out toys during the Toys For Tots distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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John Swartzlander helps Chelsea Allaman find the right bike for her kids during the Toys For Tots distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Stephanie Stivason offers toy suggestions to toy recipients during the Toys For Tots distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Toys For Tots holds its annual distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Karns City teacher and volunteer Lauren Zanella offers a drone as a toy suggestion during the Toys For Tots distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Karns City student and volunteer Nicole Huff, left, suggests potential toys to a parent during the Toys For Tots distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Volunteer Stephanie Stivason, left, wheels a Barbie dollhouse to Shannon Russell during the Toys For Tots distribution at Clearview Mall, Thursday, Dec. 11. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
