Wyoming County Toy Fund organizers and Wyoming County Firefighters Association members will again join forces to make Christmas brighter for the county’s disadvantaged children.
On Saturday, Dec. 11, from noon until 2 p.m., fire departments across the county will serve as pick-up sites for disadvantaged children invited to participate. Hanover and Coal Mountain Volunteer Fire Departments are combining their efforts for the event at the Hanover station.
The county office of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) is sending out the invitations, or tickets, which will provide instructions as to which fire department the participant will go to pick up toys.
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It takes between $25,000 and $30,000 to provide toys for all the children who usually participate, explained Charlie Feller, Toy Fund treasurer.
The gigantic project is funded entirely by donations from individuals, civic groups, churches, charitable foundations, and other organizations.
Through the generosity of businesses and individuals from across the area, donations are still needed and toys are still being purchased and organized for distribution, noted Todd Houck, Toy Fund chairman.
Monetary donations can be mailed to: Wyoming County Toy Fund, P.O. Box 295, Mullens, WV 25882, with checks made payable to Wyoming County Toy Fund.
The smaller donations of $5, $10, $20 or $25 are the lifeblood of the Toy Fund, Houck emphasized.
Additionally, new toys, still in the packaging, may be dropped off at local fire departments. Used toys can no longer be accepted due to a lack of storage space.
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This marks the 23rd year for the Wyoming County Toy Fund.
Organizers thought last year’s event would have to be canceled due to the continuing health threat from the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Wyoming County Firefighters Association picked up the gauntlet to help distribute the toys.
“We saw the need and we wanted to help,” Mike Johnson, association president, said. “That’s what we do, we help people when there is a need.”
“The 2020 Toy Fund event would not have been possible without the help of the Wyoming County Firefighters Association and the Wyoming County Department of Health and Human Resources,” Feller emphasized.
“Since the Toy Fund was started in 1999, the DHHR has been involved with sending tickets to the eligible households, as well as collecting donations and toys,” Feller said.
The tickets indicate to which fire department the shopper will go within their geographic area, Feller noted.
Picking up toys within each family’s own community at the fire departments, as opposed to having to travel to a central location in the county, also increases the number of participants which results in the need for more toys and additional donations, organizers emphasize.
Longtime Toy Fund volunteers as well as DHHR representatives will be at each fire department to assist with the mammoth project, verify invitations/tickets, and take over in the event an emergency takes firefighters away from the station.
Masks are required for all individuals and CDC social distancing guidelines will be enforced.
Also due to the pandemic and its continuing impact on the economy, the need remains greater this year, according to organizers.
About 3,500 children, age 12 and under, will be invited by the DHHR.
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A registered non-profit entity, the Wyoming County Toy Fund began in 1999 as a spinoff of Mac’s Toy Fund in Raleigh County. The project has served an average of 1,500 children each year with an annual budget of about $25,000.
Jeanne Goan, of the DHHR, serves as Toy Fund vice president.
Jennifer Huggins, of Wagon Wheel ATV Resort and Campground, is secretary.
