Good, Used Toys Sought For Consignment To Benefit CCS Toy Give Away
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Those good, quality used toys in the back of your children’s closets can help provide a Christmas to those who otherwise might not have one – and help spread the word of Jesus Christ. Drop off the toys at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Dec. 12 for the “Toy Time” two-day consignment sale to benefit Combined Community Services Toy Give Away. Workers at Toy Time will do the pricing, and those who drop off the toys receive 50 percent of the sale price. The public toy sale will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 14, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 15. CCS uses its half of the proceeds to buy new toys to distribute at the Toy Give Away Dec. 17-18. “The whole process is kind of like recycling toys,” said Ami Pitts, event organizer. “You help other families by selling your toys and helping us buy new toys to give away. The Give Away is the finish line.” At the Give Away, workers also personally share about Jesus and give families a Bible. Donations of Bibles also are appreciated. “This being the 20th year of the Give Away, I’ve been so grateful for the thousands of families that have been serviced and excited that each family has been given the news of Jesus,” said Peggi Lisenbee-Wright, CCS director of client assistance. “It’s a 10-day process. The toy giveaway is the finish line, but what’s really in our hearts is that we get to tell them about Jesus,” Pitts stated. She referred to Matthew 10:42, which states, “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.” Only with the toy give away, it’s toys instead of cold water, she noted. The Give Away started 20 years ago when Marty Courtney was CCS director. She had Pitts start the annual event, and Pitts remembers that because she was pregnant with her daughter. Her kids have grown up helping with the Give Away. “Over the years the Toy Give Away has been something else,” Pitts remarked. She recalled when her daughter Rissa gave the shoes off her own feet so that another girl wouldn’t go without shoes in the snowy winter one year. In another story, she told how one young man volunteering at the event realized how lucky he was by giving a family a bike for their youngest child who never rode one before. It’s young people, under 20, who run the toy sale and give away. “It teaches them not only the heart of serving others, but also the heart of Jesus,” Pitts stated. Culver’s also is donating a portion of its sales from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday to Toy Time/CCS Toy Give Away. Dinner can be either dine-in or drive-thru. For more information, call Pitts at 574-265-4179.
