9-1-1 Charity Hosts Toy Drive
Once again, 911 Gives Hope is asking the community to help the organization fill a 53-foot semitrailer with toys this weekend to be distributed to local hospitals, just in time for Christmas.The annual Hope for the Holidays Toy Drive will kick off at 5 a.m. Friday and continue until 6 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of the East Side Walmart, at the Lloyd Crossing Shopping Center, 401 N. Burkhardt Road (Ind.).
Toys collected will be delivered on Dec. 18 to the St. Mary’s Medical Center, Deaconess Hospital, the Evansville Psychiatric Children’s Center and the Ronald McDonald House and Methodist Hospital in Henderson, Kentucky.
The event is a great community project, said Anita Hagan, the manager of Deaconess Riley Children Services. She said the contributions are not only beneficial for her patients, but also the child’s family. The goal at Deaconess is to have a toy waiting for children before they get to their rooms.
“What 911 Gives Hope contributes to all of those facilities is truly amazing. The community has such generosity when it comes to children,” Hagan said. “When a child comes into the hospital, No. 1, they don’t feel good, and No. 2, they’re always a little stressed because they’re worried about what’s going to happen. When you can have something in their room that’s waiting for them that is age appropriate, it helps everyone calm down a bit and see, ‘Gosh, maybe, this isn’t such a scary place.’ It’s nice to start a hospitalization that way.”
Though some of the presents will be distributed to children who have to spend Christmas in the hospital, enough toys are collected for the facilities to give to children throughout the year.
One of the drive’s sponsors is Townsquare Media, which will have live broadcasts during the marathon event. Another longtime sponsor is Henderson Chevrolet, Buick, GMC.
Any donations of toys that “your child would want to play with,” will be accepted, said 911 Gives Hope advisory board member Kyle Phernetton, who noted organizers will be accepting items for children as young as infants and toddlers. All items must be new and unwrapped. Volunteers also will gladly accept cash.
“Cash donations will help buy bigger items. For example, Saint Mary’s asked for an iPad. They use that (so that) they can get apps that the kids can play with,” Phernetton said. “… All the money (collected) will get used for the toy drive.”
In past years, the drive has produced electric cars that patients can drive to an impending surgery — which hopefully eases their minds before the procedure.
Santa Claus himself will be greeting families at Walmart from 5-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. He’ll pose for photos with children, but no camera will be provided.
Phernetton said he is confident that the semi will again be full by Sunday. He noted that even last year — when icy weather plagued the event — the goal was met.
“We’ve filled up the semi every year that we’ve had the semi,” he said.