Putting smiles on children's faces

There are several toy drives going on across the county with one thing in mind - that children in need can get at least one toy at Christmas.

Putting together these various toy drives takes a lot of time, energy and coordination. Many of them get started as soon as Thanksgiving has passed.

Tamra Annett, sales and marketing director for Annett Bus Lines, was busy Monday morning with several other employees, getting the toys loaded into Bus No. 0003 for distribution.

"This is our seventh annual 'Stuff the Bus Toy Drive,'" said Annett.

It took several weeks to get the ball rolling.

"I pulled it together right around Thanksgiving," she said.

She was grateful to everyone who contributed one or more unwrapped gifts.

The company worked with four companies (Heartland National Bank, WWOJ Lite FM, Wells Dodge Chrysler and Sebring Signs and Promotions) and established six drop-off sites.

One drop-off site remains active at the Heartland National Bank location in Sebring next to the Gate gas station. Girl's gifts may still be a good option for anyone who wants to make a donation, said Annett.

"Brian Annett (the company president and CEO) started this toy drive seven years ago and he's the one who established the relationship with our partners," she said.

In all, the drive brought in about 200 toys to benefit boys and girls at the Redland Christian Migrant Association locations in Avon Park and Lake Placid and the New Testament Mission in Sebring.

They collected lists from the two RCMA sites in Highlands County, one with 60 children and 80 from the other, so each child should get at least two gifts, she said. New Testament Mission will be handled separately.

RCMA also has a separate teen parents' division for which Annett has separated out baby things.

"We just did a baby box for them," she said.

The people at the destination sites who know the families will then wrap and decide which toy or toys are given to which children. The average price range for each toy was about $10 to $15.

Happy Tree

The Happy Tree at Sun 'n Lake of Sebring is up in the new Golf Clubhouse building.

"It's been a long tradition at Sun 'n Lake," said Madeleine Baxley, who said the Happy Tree toy drive began roughly 15 years ago.

This year they'll gather gifts for about 70 children through St. Catherine's Catholic Church and the Salvation Army.

Much like the Angel Tree idea, people who wished to give a child a gift picked a card-ornament from the tree with a boy or girl's name and age and come back with an age and gender-appropriate wrapped toy.

They were also supposed to sign a book so organizers knew who took a specific card. But that didn't always happen.

Once again the Happy Tree's branches were empty, however, cash donations continued to be accepted for last-minute needs.

"I feel sorry for the poor little kids," said Baxley. "I want them to all have a present for Christmas."

Anyone still wishing to help may call Karen Fitzpatrick at 863-471-3809.

The toy drive generally starts off right after Thanksgiving and the deadline date for dropping off the gifts is Friday, Dec. 18.

Wild Turkey

Mike and Kay Reark, owners of the Wild Turkey Tavern, have been holding a fundraiser to purchase Christmas toys for the last 26 to 28 years.

"We had a big auction and dart tournament," said Kay Reark.

All the money raised that day, about $3,400, went to the Salvation Army Angel Tree, from which they pulled four names, and the Sun 'n Lake Happy Tree for gifts for about nine children, and 15 individual families.

Reark said she was worried whether they would have enough money with the economy the way it's been, but even though they had fewer players than past tournaments they raised just as much money as previous years, she said.

The money raised was due in part to generous donations of three free fishing trips as well as a day trip to Boca Grand. They also auctioned off golf packages plus Mike Reark sold his "famous" ribs, she said.

A load of toys was also taken to the National Guard Armory.

Highlands Senior Center

Ahn McQueen with the Highlands Senior Center said they, too, obtained a list of 32 names from the Redlands Christian Migrant Association for their Christmas project.

"For the last four years, we've given to the RCMA," she said.

They've collected a barrel-full of food items and a turkey for a meal.

The center has about 90 members, she said, and many brought in wrapped gifts specific to each child.

"We have two wonderful gifts for each child, and one for the teacher," said McQueen. "Plus a bag full of unwrapped toys they can give out to each center."

The gifts will be picked up today.