Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WNDU-TV news anchors Tricia Sloma and Gordy Young will be in Warsaw broadcasting live from the Warsaw/Kosciusko County Toy Drive Saturday morning.
"The toys donated at the Warsaw collection site are given to kids in the Warsaw area - they stay right here," Sloma said.
Young invites area residents to visit with them while they broadcast between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. in the National City Bank parking lot off Center Street, between Buffalo and Lake streets. Toys will be collected until 11 a.m..
"We'd love to meet you. Come on out and spend some time with us," Young said. "We'll have free coffee, hot chocolate and donuts. And, it's all for a good cause."
The toy drive last year collected thousands of toys, according to Lou Pierce, director of audience development and programming for WNDU.
"Everyone's been terrific," Pierce said. "Thousands of toys were donated by hundreds of generous people in the Warsaw area last year at the same event. This year I think we'll set a new record."
David Morales, a gunnery sergeant in the Marine Reserves, serves as the Toys for Tots coordinator in Warsaw. He collects the new toys and then distributes them to the families recommended by Combined Community Services, the Salvation Army and the local schools.
Toys for Tots was started in 1947 by a Marine officer and it's grown every year since then," Morales said.
This is the ninth year Toys for Tots has been active in Kosciusko County, and the community response has been phenomenal, Morales added.
