Volunteers Prep Toys For This Weekend's Consignment Sale
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a small army of volunteers to prepare for the Toy Time consignment sale to benefit Combined Community Services Toy Give Away. “If I had to guess, probably 50 (volunteers) all working – pricing, sorting and cleaning the toys,” said coordinator Ami Pitt. The toy consignment sale is Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Home and Family Arts Building at the Kosciusko Community Fairgrounds. Everyone is invited to attend the sale and purchase toys, games, books, DVDs, stuffed animals and more. Proceeds from the sale go to purchase brand-new toys for area children in need. Toys for the consignment were accepted this week through Thursday. As of Wednesday night, Pitt said they had taken in about 8,500 toys. Thursday afternoon, she said they had a “real steady” flow of people dropping off gently used toys. She guessed that by 9 p.m. Thursday, they would probably have between 10,000 to 11,000 items. “We’re getting really nice stuff in, too,” she commented. “We need people to buy toys this weekend so we can buy new toys (for the Give Away).” The Toy Give Away is Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. or until they run out of toys. CCS, American Bikers Aimed Toward Education, Toys for Tots and other groups will merge their efforts to give away the gifts while also spreading the gospel of Jesus. In 2012, toys were given to 2,082 children in the area. Volunteers – like Tina Boswell, Stephanie Clark, Heidi Kreider and Rissa Pitt – make it all happen. “Ami started one year longer than I have. She roped me into it, but she didn’t have to rope me very hard,” Boswell said. Pitt started the toy consignment 20 years ago at the urging of Marty Courtney, who at that time was the director of CCS. Boswell said there are several reasons she comes back every year to help. “Number one, we want to make sure we get the word out that Jesus loves everyone,” she said. “We want to make sure children who won’t receive, we provide for.” She also feels good about helping out with the annual event. “Over 2,000 kids got toys last year. When I see my grandchildren get toys, it makes me want to see kids who otherwise wouldn’t get any get toys.” Boswell also takes two weeks of vacation time from work every December to help. “They all know in December I will be gone for two weeks doing this,” she said. In her nearly 20 years of volunteering, Boswell said she’s made new friends and seen many of the kids who volunteer grow up. “I love it. I love it,” she said. This is the first year Clark has volunteered, and she found the experience “amazing.” “It’s amazing to watch the children help, and we get to spread the word of God,” Clark stated. Kreider knows she’s in her 10th year of volunteering with the consignment sale because her daughter Ellen was 3 months old when she first started doing it. Now, all of her children volunteer. “They love it,” she said. “Because there’s millions of reasons. First, I want my children to give before they receive. I want them to understand how much they have. ... There’s a lot more other reasons. My kids look forward to this. They want to be a part of it.” Ami’s daughter, Rissa Pitt, has been a part of the sale and giveaway all 20 years of her life. “It wouldn’t be Christmas for our family if we didn’t do it. It’s become a tradition. It wouldn’t be Christmas if we didn’t do it,” she said. The giveaway days are the most memorable, she said, and part of that reason is because she gets to witness to people about Jesus those two days. One year, a boy who came into the toy giveaway was able to receive a bicycle. He was so thrilled, Rissa recalled. “It’s so great to see people’s facial expressions,” she said. Asked if she could see herself volunteering for another 20 years, she answered, “As soon as my mom’s done, I’m taking over. We’re longtime volunteers.”
