By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY
christopher.tuffley@newssun.com
AVON PARK -- Not everyone is saying "bah humbug" this year.
In fact there are quite a few people who are getting into the spirit of Christmas, and experiencing the real meaning and joy of giving.
Monday night, a group of middle and high school students -- most of whom are members of the FFA or the 4-H Club -- and many of their mothers spent some time picking out gifts for the Avon Park Fire Department's Toys for Tots Drive, and then much more time turning the toys into Christmas presents by wrapping them in colorful paper.
This is the fifth year the students have helped with the drive. It is part of the FFA's commitment to have its members involved in community service, said the middle school's FFA advisor, Kellie Duke.
All year the firefighters collect toys and money so that come Christmas time, those children who have the least in Highlands County may still have a Christmas including a visit from Santa Claus.
At 5:15 Monday night the group of about two dozen students and adults met Rob Remick from the fire department and prepared to find the perfect presents.
Labels were handed out to the volunteers, each of which had the age and gender of a child written on it as well as a code number that corresponded to a particular child.
The object was for a volunteer to find an appropriate toy. There was a $20 to $25 limit per toy.
Once a toy had been selected, the label was stuck to it for identification purposes.
Paige Timmons and Bethany McIntosh, both juniors at the high school, wasted no time.
Having an older brother and a 4-year-old younger brother, Timmons said she was better at picking toys for boys than for girls. But she drew two girls ages 7 and 10.
Going carefully up and down the aisles, she stopped in front of the doll section.
"I know they like Bratz Dolls," she said looking closely at one popular brand.
"Kids like to dress up," she said a minute later, having moved down the aisle and looking at selections of plastic jewelry and costume dresses.
She debated back and forth, asking for opinions from her friends, and finally ended up getting a Bratz doll with accessories for the 10-year-old and a Barbie doll with a barbecue grill and patio table for the 7-year-old.
Over in another aisle, a Hannah Montana doll packaged with an accompanying guitar proved a popular item.
Nerf products were among the most chosen for boys, as were footballs, soccer balls and Lincoln Logs.
The shopping part didn't take very long.
The work of the evening came next.
The group moved on to the community center on Main Street where everyone set down to work.
But what work. It was as close to being an elf at the North Pole as it is possible to get in a sub-tropical climate.
The community center's main room was stuffed with toys.
On the raised stage toys were heaped in huge piles, and big rubber tubs filled with toys were scattered across the floor.
These were donations from all kinds of civic and church groups -- from stuffed animals to crayons to jigsaw puzzles to yo-yos, board games and more. There was even one beautifully crafted, hand-made, child-sized, rocking chair, the seat in the shape of a heart.
Each child received a "big present" -- that is one of the toys that had been bought that evening -- and as many of the toys from the tubs and piles around the room as could be packed into a large black trash bag.
Once the trash bag was bulging full, the volunteer took it to a table and proceeded to wrap every gift.
Then the presents were put back into the trash bag, it was tied shut, and a sticker put on the outside with a child's identifying code number on the outside.
The bags were then transported to the fire station so they would be ready when parents from pre-selected families came to pick them up today.
The evening had special meaning for Sydney Gandy. who attends the middle school.
Her very first Christmas present ever when she was 2 months old, came from a Toys for Tots program exactly like this one. It was a stuffed dog with a pull string and it played a lullaby. It is still a treasured part of her toy collection.
"This is a way of giving back," Sydney said.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 - www.newssun.com/1224-ct-toys