ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — If you think Santa is busy in December, you haven’t met the Toy Makers of East Lake.
Throughout the year, this group of senior volunteers makes 20,000 wooden toys in their workshop and then delivers them to children in need across the community.
On Monday, they dropped off some of the toys to the kids at Parc Center for Disabilities.
“Santa told me there are a lot of kids who have been really good here at Parc,” said Theresa Chapman, one of the lead elves.
“It started with about five guys. One of the gentlemen went to the hospital, his granddaughter had a toy, the other one in the room didn’t, so he started making toys,” said Chapman.
That was in 2007, and the organization has only grown since then. It now has 75 volunteers, both seniors and students.
“We deliver to police departments, fire departments, hospitals, ERs, homeless, children that have been abused, just you name it,” said Chapman.
However, Parc Center for Disabilities is extra special because the staff gets to hand out the toys personally to the children.
“So many times when we deliver our toys we deliver to the organization and we don’t get to see the children so today its great, I got goose bumps,” said Chapman. “The smile is it; I mean, our motto is, ‘making smiles one toy at a time,’ and today was a witness to that.”
The Parc staff said they look forward to their visit every year.
“It’s really important, I mean it shows that the community cares about them and not all toys are electronic, they are handcrafted and beautiful and they can use their imagination,” said Parc COO Marion White.
These seniors say whether sawing, sanding, or painting, there is a job for everyone in the workshop. No previous toy-making experience is required. They’re always looking for elves and donations.
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