When the county fire departments delivered their collection of toys Saturday to the Toys for Tots toy drive at Martin’s Supermarket in Warsaw, the impact was substantial.
The firefighters gathered at JB’s Furniture first beginning at about 8 a.m. and then paraded with an escort by the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office to Martin’s at 9:30 a.m. Saturday to deliver the dolls, games, bicycles, action figures and other toys.

    Kosciusko County Fire Association President Kevin McSherry and Santa Claus accept a donation from JB’s Furniture for Toys for Tots. Pictured (L to R) are McSherry; Jill and Jon Blackwood, owners of JB’s Furniture; and Santa Claus. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.
  

Kosciusko County Fire Association President Kevin McSherry said they had 14 departments from the county - and possibly Nappanee - that were going to participate Saturday.
“We try to grow it each year, and Warsaw has had a bit of a handicap because there’s no budget money, no budget line to take toys out of. But, this year they have the firefighters union, which is their money but they’re turning it back around and using some of that for Toys for Tots. So that part is a big plus for the Warsaw firefighters,” he said.
Of all the fire departments, McSherry said Milford sets the bar.
“Everybody’s goal is to exceed Milford or keep up with them. I know it’s a struggle,” he stated. “My department is small, and at our fish fries year round, whenever a customer says ‘keep the change,’ it goes into the Toys for Tots fund, and we have an electronic app that allows us to do that to keep track of it easily. And then we add some to that, and then we have some donations that go to that. It’s very helpful.”

    Milford Fire Department unloads the approximate 500 toys the department collected this year for Toys for Tots. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.
  

McSherry said the firefighters know Toys for Tots helps the kids.
“The toys are given back locally, which we like,” he said. “... We’ll collect year-round, if they want to. If they have some (new unwrapped toys) that they want to get rid of, we’ll take them any time.”
While the fire departments were waiting to head to Martin’s from JB’s, Jon and Jill Blackwood, owners of JB’s Furniture, came out and presented a $1,000 check for Toys for Tots.
Jill said they present a check to the firefighters every year for Toys for Tots and “we’re honored to have them in our parking lot every year.”
Jon said they hope the donation will buy a lot of toys. “Anything for the kids,” Jill said. “A small part of it,” Jon said, with Jill adding, “For all they do for us as firemen.”
Steve Farber, Milford Fire Department lieutenant, estimated MFD had about eight boxes full of toys and around a half dozen bicycles.
“I think this year was a little extra, more than we have brought in the past. It’s hard to tell with the boxes because normally where we store them we don’t have them in the boxes, but there’s quite a bit there. We guesstimate over 500 toys,” Farber said.
He said Milford fundraises all year round, and then the week before the toy drive, “we usually try to hit the sales up and get as much as we can for money.”

    Pierceton Fire Department Chief Nathan Rhoades hands off a box of toys for Toys for Tots at Saturday’s toy drive at Martin’s in Warsaw. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.
  

Pierceton Fire Department Chief Nathan Rhoades said they worked with Aludyne Manufacturing in Pierceton and gave them a Toys for Tots box, which Aludyne filled as well as donated two bicycles.
“And then we put a box up down at Dollar General and just whoever came into Dollar General could put donations in there. And both boxes came back completely full, so the back of our fire truck is full. I’m extremely pleased with the community of Pierceton. They’re just very giving. It was amazing this year,” Rhoades stated.
Turkey Creek Township Fire Department Chief Mickey Scott said they did very well, collecting toys from a couple different places in town.
“Volunteer fire, the donations they receive, then they take some of those donations - a lot of those donations - they’ll take them and purchase toys for kids and stuff,” he said.
The toys collected this year by the fire department was about the same as last year, Scott estimated, as people still give no matter the status of the economy.

    Turkey Creek Township Fire Chief Mickey Scott (R) hands off a box of toy donations for Toys for Tots to a Warsaw Community High School volunteer Saturday. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.
  

Mike Cox, public information officer for Winona Lake Fire Department, said they did really well this year.
“We raised some money, and then went out and spent $1,000 on toys. Actually, that was our goal - to get $1,000, and they spent all but 49 cents of it. We got bicycles. We got all kinds of toys. It’s something that, we keep doing this, we keep getting out here and freezing, but nobody cares because kids are so important, this time of year especially. So many kids don’t have a lot to look forward to at Christmas, and if we can help in any way, that’s what we want to do,” he said.
There’s also a little bit of a rivalry between the fire departments of who has the most and best toys.
“That’s a good thing. It gets everybody out here talking. We’re happy with what we did this year,” Cox stated.
Stores often help by providing the fire departments with a discount or a flat-out donation when they do the toy shopping.
“Some departments have fundraisers just for Toys for Tots. Others take donations all year. They do it different ways, but we’re kind of modifying our fundraising and it’s been a success this year for us and we’re happy with what we brought,” he concluded.
Chris Cage is the Toys for Tots coordinator for Kosciusko and Marshall counties.
Before the fire departments arrived, he said the toy collection was doing okay.
“I think collections might be down a little bit, but we’re making up for it. It’s going to be another good year, and that’s a good thing because we have more families signed up this year and total children that were signed up were 1,134 children, up from last year. So there’s a lot of need in the community, but I think we’re going to be okay. We always come through, and if we need to buy more, we’ll go out and buy more to fill that,” he said.
Every year, Toys for Tots is a humbling experience for him.
During all of last week, Cage was out at Meijer with an RV and filled it up with toys.
“That turned out to be another good year for that,” he said. “We live in a great community. Anytime there’s a need, our community comes together and fills that need. It shows out here today with the choir singing, the parents out here and the donations coming in. We live in a wonderful community.”
On Dec. 21, applicants will pick up their allotment of toys at the warehouse from 8 a.m. to noon. Cage said this is the second year for the applicants picking the gifts up and it works out really well.
To make a monetary donation for Toys for Tots or to contact Cage, visit the website at toysfortots.org.
On Monday, Dec. 9, he said they’ll begin bagging up the toys and getting them ready to go out on Dec. 21. If anyone wants to volunteer to help, which is usually done in the evenings, they can reach Cage through social media or toysfortots.org.

    Bryce Good lowers one of the bicycles for Toys for Tots Saturday from atop a Burket Fire Department fire truck. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.
  

The Warsaw elementary and high school choirs sang during part of the toy drive, with the high school students also volunteering to load the donations up onto the box trucks.
Marilyn Mason had a few of her Warsaw Community High School choir members on hand. “Our main role was to maybe sing a few carols, but otherwise we’ve been working and trying to help load the trucks,” she said. “... They’re good kids and they just want to help in their community, and this was an opportunity to do that. We’re really glad to be here and help with this Toys for Tots drive.”
WNDU channel 16 meteorologist Andrew Whitmyer was on hand at the Warsaw Martin’s throughout the morning Saturday. He said this is WNDU’s 30th year partnering with the U.S. Marine Corps on Toys for Tots.
He said they do it every year “just really, again, to help the families that are in need. To give back to the community, help the Marines out, the first responders out to make sure that everybody has a good and safe and happy holiday season.”

    Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith (R) helps unload a box of toys for Toys for Tots from Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory firefighter Myles Scott. In the fire truck is Justin Miller. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.
  

    Andrew Whitmyer, WNDU channel 16 meteorologist, rolls one of the donated bicycles to a box truck Saturday for Toys for Tots at Martin’s in Warsaw. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.