Firefighter’s toy chest in need of donations
COSHOCTON – Help the Coshocton County Firefighters spread holiday cheer this Christmas by donating to their annual toy chest program.
The firefighters toy chest provides new, unwrapped toys to low-income families in Coshocton County and this year 175 families signed up to receive assistance.
“That equals out to 650 kids,” said Laura Drake, who has several relatives on various fire departments in the county and has been coordinating the firefighter’s toy chest for a number of years. “We only guarantee one toy per child, but in years past we’ve been able to provide four or five to each child. Donations are way down right now though and we need basically everything.”
The firefighter’s toy chest helps provide Christmas to children between the ages of newborn and 15. The most requested toys this year are:
- Boys: Dinosaurs, SpongeBob, Paw Patrol, LEGOS, headphones, WWE, PJ Mask, Minecraft, Mickey Mouse, remote control cars, and bath sets
- Girls: LEGOS, Baby Alive, Peppa Pig, Minnie Mouse, LOL Dolls, Shopkins, jewelry, makeup, nail polish, bath sets, and unicorns
- Baby items: Bibs, socks, onesies, light up and musical toys
Toys can be dropped off at Coshocton Fire Department on Seventh Street or Walhonding Valley Fire on Bridge Street in Warsaw. Monetary donations can be mailed to: Toy Chest P.O. BOX 133 Coshocton, Ohio 43812.
“We’d like to have everything by Dec. 18, but we will still take donations after that,” Drake said. “We will store them for next year or use them to help a family out during the year.”
The firefighters have a shopping day at Wal-Mart to buy toys with monetary donations received. They also gather together to sort items for the families.
“Everyone is given a piece of paper with the family’s names and ages and they select toys and put them in a trash bag for the family,” Drake said. “The families all get letters telling them when to pick up their items. It makes me feel good to know that every little kid is going to have something to open on Christmas morning.”
She greatly appreciates the community’s support of the project.
“Without the community we couldn’t put this on every year,” Drake said. “I really thank the community for all its support. We are only funded by community donations.”
Category: People & Places
