MANSFIELD, Ohio – Almost 1,000 Richland County children will find presents under their tree on Christmas morning thanks to the efforts of Toy Time staff and volunteers.
Over the weekend a total of 384 families visited the 280 N. Diamond St. facility to receive Christmas gifts for their youngsters. According to director Teresa Boner, that equates to a total of 851 children.
“The goal of the program is to make sure every child of Richland County has something at Christmas,” said Boner. “Everybody wants something under that tree from Santa, because they’re kids and hopefully they’re still believing in Santa. We just want to make sure everyone has a good Christmas.”
Toy Time has a long history of ringing in the holidays for underprivileged children throughout Richland County. Boner’s father, Ken Cole, started the organization in 1967, and she took over as director after his death six years ago.
“I’m 46 years old, and I was born and raised doing this,” she said.
Preparations for the program began the last weekend in October, when the signature red barrels were placed in different drop-off locations throughout the area. The donated toys are collected, cleaned, repaired, and sorted for distribution.
Boner said almost 50 volunteers shopped for the families in need at Toy Time, where boxes and shelves are filled with toys separated by age and gender. Applicants give suggestions for three toys for the children, usually two used toys and one new.
“If they feel the need help with Christmas, that’s all it takes to participate,” said Boner. “Everything is inventoried, we count every toy that goes onto a shelf so we know how many toys we have.”
Toy Time accepts both new and used toys to give to children over the holidays, a unique aspect that sets it apart from other similar organizations.
“We recycle toys; a lot of times these toys would get thrown away if we didn’t have them, and look how many families it helps,” said volunteer Deb Hunter. “It’s a wonderful organization.”
A native of New London, Hunter has been volunteering with Toy Time for the past 15 years. She said her love of volunteering stems from growing up in a large family where they didn’t have much.
“We appreciated what we did get,” said Hunter. “I like how everybody here comes together to work for the cause. And yes these are used toys, but you’re going to see those kids smiling on Christmas morning.”
Last year, Toy Time made Christmas a little more special for 769 children in 362 families. The previous year, the organization reached more than 1,000 Richland County children.
More than providing toys for needy children, Boner said the most rewarding part of the weekend for her has been the volunteers. Out of almost 50 people, all except three were returning volunteers.
“That in itself is more rewarding because it’s such a good program that everyone likes it and everyone has fun,” said Boner. “I mean, it’s toys – you can’t not have fun because everybody plays with toys.”
