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Mid-Ohio Valley Toys for Tots wraps up another year

By Madeline Scarborough 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- For Christmas 2020, the Mid-Ohio Valley Toys for Tots program was able to help over 700 families (many with multiple children) and multiple organizations on both sides of the Ohio River.

"The Mid-Ohio Valley has been very giving to those less fortunate and has made what could be a tremendous shortfall into yet another successful campaign," said Cliff Hecker, coordinator of Mid-Ohio Valley Toys for Tots. "Especially with the pandemic, layoffs and other struggles of 2020, I am so proud of and grateful to our community for stepping up this year where they could and helping us (Toys for Tots) reach our toy goals."

This year Toys for Tots' national sponsor was Ollie's Bargain Outlet.

"Our first drive at the store was great," said Hecker. "In just four hours we had boxes and trash bags overflowing; the results were amazing."

Hecker said Toys for Tots covers families in five counties in both West Virginia and Ohio.

"The volunteers that work seemingly endless hours thoroughly enjoy bringing the gift of hope, that someone cares, to those in need here in the Mid-Ohio Valley. From fundraising, standing in the cold and rain doing live toy drives to the final outcome of 16-18 hour days during the final distribution, these folks work tirelessly just to make sure that we live up to our motto of 'Every Child Deserves A Little Christmas,'" he said.

Toys for Tots operates solely on volunteers. The entire program depends on people volunteering and donating.

"The volunteers really make a difference, we are thankful," said Hecker.

Hecker said that this year was challenging, because there were so many restrictions and many school groups were unable to gather to help.

"We were however so blessed to be granted the opportunity to use the warehouse on Butcher Bend Road owned by Alan Kent," said Hecker.

Kent explained that the warehouse has been sitting empty for over two years, and he was glad that it could be used to help the community.

"I am absolutely blown away by how much these volunteers do each season," said Kent.

Hecker said that the warehouse was a "blessing", because it is large enough to social distance, and hold all donated goods.

"We used to have to haul donations one place for storage, then somewhere different for distribution, but since everything was in one spot, we could sort donations ahead of time," said Hecker. "It has really cut down on the extra steps and helped us keep to a good schedule, especially since we started three weeks behind schedule."

Hecker said working with Toys for Tots has really changed his perspective on Christmas, making it more about how he can give and help others, and he hopes other volunteers share this gained perspective.

"I have been with Toys for Tots 26 years now," said Hecker.

"My first year it was really only me and a few others. We reached 26 kids and thought we were doing something, making a real difference," he said.

"Fast forward to our second year and we reached 84 kids, and I thought we were making a difference then," he said.

"That number has continued to grow and now here we are 25 years later, able to reach thousands of kids in the Mid-Ohio Valley," Hecker said.

The number of kids that are reached really depends on those volunteer numbers, Hecker said. He said unfortunately he does not see the number of children needing to be reached ever going down.

"There are six to eight toys in each bag," Hecker said, "not counting stuffed animals, stocking stuffers and books.

"We try to make sure there is at least one large and one very good quality toy for each child," he said.

Hecker said gifts for the teens are always lacking, and most years so are the babies.

Toys for Tots looks for items like make-up, hair care items, purses, brushes, DIY kits and bath bombs for the girls, and cologne, small drones, speakers, sports items and dartboards for the boys.

"We can't do video games, but there are many other items especially outdoor ones that will keep teens entertained and not break wallets," Hecker said.

For babies, items such as large foam puzzles, teething rings, light up and musical toys and large blocks are all great options.

"We are fortunate for the amount of toys and money donations we receive to help provide the area kids a good Christmas," said Hecker.

They don't save any toys for next year, anything left over goes to United Way and other church outreach programs to deliver to needy families that were not reached by Toys for Tots.

Madeline Scarborough can be reached at mscarborough@newsandsentinel.com

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