GALION — Thanks to the generosity of Galion residents, businesses and organizations, more than 100 children in the area will have a happier holiday season that includes toys under their trees on Christmas morning.
Since right after Thanksgiving, the Galion Kiwanis Club has been collecting toy donations at 18 local businesses that will be be distributed to about 100 families, and 150 to 175 children.
“This year, Galion LLC actually went out the day after Thanksgiving and shopped and donated $1,000 worth of toys to us. That was amazing,” said Kiwanis president Miranda Jones. “We picked up the toys Friday from the businesses and distribution was on Saturday (Dec. 14).
“We do the the Kiwanis Kids Toy Drive every year. We work with Community Action and Tammy Crabtree. Families who meet the requirements sign up. We are focused on children ages 1-12, boys and girls,” said Jones. “We will get a list of how many per age group. In the Fellner Building — in the very back — they let us have a storage room where we keep toys all year round on the shelves.
“So then the families will line up the morning of distribution. We have kids from the National Honor Society and the Key Club from the high school and other Kiwanis members help us, and we shop with the parents.”
Parents get a certain amount of ‘money’ to spend on their children and pick out a variety of toys so the kids will have something to open on Christmas morning. Jones said the money is actually Monopoly money the parents get to spend and toys are priced significantly down from what the original cost would be.
“If a toy is typically $10 we would price it down to $3,” she explained. “That way parents are able to provide toys for their kids.”
Jones is very happy with the generosity of this community and its willingness to donate.
Any monetary donations we get is kept with the Galion Community Foundation, and it all goes for the toys.
“People are very generous,” she said.
