Opportunities to help after hurricane continue
SUGARCREEK (WJER) (Nov. 12, 2024) – Toy drives are taking place around the community to make the holidays brighter for kids in Western North Carolina.
There’s one out of the old K & R Surplus store at 504 Dover Road NE, where toys, books, and games can be dropped off daily from 9 am to 5 pm through Friday and Saturday from 10 to 2. The organizer is Valerie Gerber (who came up with the idea while helping her granddaughter clean out her toybox.
“We’ve had new donations, and we’ve also had gently-used toys. That’s kind of what started the whole thing. I was going through with my granddaughter and she was making room for new Christmas items. My daughter was going to take it to Goodwill, and I was like, ‘Hey.’ You know what? So that’s kind of where the whole thing sparked from.”
They’re also accepting gift cards for older kids, gift wrap, and monetary donations, along with coats, hats, and other cold weather gear.
“When I made contact with someone down there, we found out that they have a lot of clothes but not anything for the cold weather coming up… so winter coats, gloves, hats – even for women and men – not just children.”
Meanwhile, Dover Hog Heaven employee Heather Jarvis is leading a separate initiative she’s calling ‘Operation Elf’ to collect new, unwrapped toys for families impacted by Hurricane Helene. She traveled to North Carolina recently to help with the relief efforts and left wanting to do even more.
“I had a crate of books and I had some odd ‘n end toys and we had some odd ‘n end stuff, and we gave every single thing that we had out but then we came home to all of our kids and the things they do have and I thought, ‘You know what? I want my kids to get involved.’ So I talked to them. I talked to them about my idea, and they said, ‘Yeah, Mom. Those kids need Christmas this year.’”
In addition to the restaurant, there are three other Operation Elf drop-off sites: at Mill Street Diner in Sugarcreek, Dickerhoof’s Garage in Strasburg, and W&W Transport in Winesburg, which is providing the truck that will carry the toys to their destination.
“I am working with a couple of different groups. One in particular is out of Fairview, North Carolina, and they have a community center there where they have decided to allow us to have that for three days for setting up a make-shift free shop kind of, and we’re going to invite the parents to come shop for their kids for free.”
That collection runs through November 26th.