Donors Stave off the Grinch

12/21/2009 2:36:00 PM 

Donors stave off the Grinch

By David Schueller

A story of hardship turned into a reason to celebrate last week at ResourceWest in Hopkins.

The organization runs a toy donation program called Toy Chest to collect and distribute toys for Christmas to more than 900 children.

Last week, there weren't enough toys.

This year toy donations were down as much as 30 percent for ResourceWest, and last week the organization had a waiting list of more than 150 children who wouldn't get toys.

But a sad story turned happy on Dec. 17, when fortunes turned after a call for help.

ResourceWest Executive Director Judy Elling sent a morning e-mail out that reached more than 200 people. In only about three hours, people had donated close to $1,000 online and more was promised in more than 50 replies.

It was enough to give toys to those who would have otherwise been denied.

"It's just amazing to me how when you really put a call out, this community pulls together," Elling said.

The Toy Chest program serves families who qualify for free or reduced lunches in school and live in Deephaven, Excelsior, Greenwood, Hopkins, Minnetonka, Shorewood or Woodland.

Client Anlena Roundtree said she was at ResourceWest picking up toys for her four children while they were at school.

"It's wonderful. It helps out a lot," Roundtree said.

Roundtree said she doesn't have the income to shop for presents and has been out of work since having heart surgery in January.

"It helps out in a time of need, when the families are struggling," she said.

ResourceWest hasn't been the only organization struggling this year.

Toys for Tots has seen a significant increase in demand over last year, said Staff Sgt. Alan Mansager, assistant coordinator of Toys for Tots in the Twin Cites.

"Our toy donations are down 70 percent of what they were a year ago," Mansager said.

He and 15 other Marines work to collect and distribute them to non-profits that give them out. He said that as a rule of thumb, if Toys for Tots is struggling so is everybody else.

"The demand is just so great," he said.

Mansager said the point is to make sure every child gets a gift. Last year the organization distributed as many as 400,000 toys.

"No matter how things are, how complicated the world is, everybody gets excited this time of year," Mansager said.

ResourceWest volunteer Rey Lindquist said parents can pick up items for themselves.

"What's really so neat is the parents, guardians, grandparents are selecting items that they feel the child will want and need. It's not just bagging stuff up and dropping it on their doorsteps," Lindquist said.

He said despite what people think about the west metro being affluent, there could still be more than 1,000 kids who would've gone without presents were it not for people's generosity.

"It's just very rewarding to see these parents walking out of here with two or three big bags, and it's not just toys, it's also some clothing items. And you know children are going to have presents for Christmas," he said. "And otherwise they might not."

But why donate toys at all?

Elling said teachers were starting to see kids feeling down around holiday time.

"It's part of that season of giving," Elling said. "You really want to feel that you're blessed to have what you have."

For Elling the issue hits close to home. When she was growing up, her parents, who were farmers, had years when they didn't have the money to buy presents. She noted that in her e-mail asking for help for ResourceWest.

"Everybody should have something to smile about this time of year," Elling said.