Helping hand
Santa’s Toy Shoppe provides gifts for those less fortunate
Brendan Hoover
The old Mexican food restaurant looked a little like a manger.
The vacant restaurant was transformed into Santa’s Toy Shoppe Saturday as the Canadian County Salvation Army ended its annual toy drive by distributing gifts to parents of hundreds of needy children who live in Mustang, Yukon, El Reno and other cities in eastern Canadian County.
Jim Poe, chairman of the county chapter of the Salvation Army, said the event was a hit.
“Everybody east of Banner Road in Canadian County came together to really make this a success,” Poe said.
Earlier in the week two closets in the old restaurant were filled waist high with toys, Poe said. The toys, ranging from Barbie dolls and board games to stuffed animals and robots were donated to local fire and police stations throughout the county. Community centers, churches, and local Wal-Mart stores also accepted donations.
The toys were brought to Santa’s Toy Shoppe inside the old restaurant, located in the
Chisholm Trails Shopping Center in Yukon. Volunteers from both Mustang and Yukon fire departments and the Mustang High School Pom Pon squad help to move and organize the toys, among others, Poe said.
Parents were referred to Santa’s Toy Shoppe by several agencies, including local school counselors, the civic group Yukon Sharing, the Mustang Community Center and the Piedmont Community Center. The parents then filled out an application and brought it to Santa’s Toy Shoppe, Poe said.
Last year during the same event, the Salvation Army had drawings to give away the bicycles that had been donated, Poe said. This year, anyone who wanted a bicycle got one, as they had collected over 100 to distribute, Poe said.
Girls were given two Barbie or Bratz dolls. Boys were given two cars. And that was just for starters. Toys lined the wall as parents looked through them for the perfect gift, helped by volunteers wearing Santa hats.
The Mustang Fire Department showed up with an engine full of toys, Poe said.
Halfway through the day bags of gifts were still showing up to be given away, he said. Any toys that did not get distributed would be given to local church groups, Poe said.
In years past, the Salvation Army and Yukon Sharing both held separate toy drives for the eastern part of Canadian county, Poe said. Three years ago, the two groups joined forces to create Santa’s Toy Shoppe.
He said in the past they measured their success by how many of the two most popular toys they received: bikes and Barbie dolls. They ran out of neither this year, Poe said.
Santa’s Toy Shoppe provides gifts for those less fortunate
Brendan Hoover
The old Mexican food restaurant looked a little like a manger.
The vacant restaurant was transformed into Santa’s Toy Shoppe Saturday as the Canadian County Salvation Army ended its annual toy drive by distributing gifts to parents of hundreds of needy children who live in Mustang, Yukon, El Reno and other cities in eastern Canadian County.
Jim Poe, chairman of the county chapter of the Salvation Army, said the event was a hit.
“Everybody east of Banner Road in Canadian County came together to really make this a success,” Poe said.
Earlier in the week two closets in the old restaurant were filled waist high with toys, Poe said. The toys, ranging from Barbie dolls and board games to stuffed animals and robots were donated to local fire and police stations throughout the county. Community centers, churches, and local Wal-Mart stores also accepted donations.
The toys were brought to Santa’s Toy Shoppe inside the old restaurant, located in the
Chisholm Trails Shopping Center in Yukon. Volunteers from both Mustang and Yukon fire departments and the Mustang High School Pom Pon squad help to move and organize the toys, among others, Poe said.
Parents were referred to Santa’s Toy Shoppe by several agencies, including local school counselors, the civic group Yukon Sharing, the Mustang Community Center and the Piedmont Community Center. The parents then filled out an application and brought it to Santa’s Toy Shoppe, Poe said.
Last year during the same event, the Salvation Army had drawings to give away the bicycles that had been donated, Poe said. This year, anyone who wanted a bicycle got one, as they had collected over 100 to distribute, Poe said.
Girls were given two Barbie or Bratz dolls. Boys were given two cars. And that was just for starters. Toys lined the wall as parents looked through them for the perfect gift, helped by volunteers wearing Santa hats.
The Mustang Fire Department showed up with an engine full of toys, Poe said.
Halfway through the day bags of gifts were still showing up to be given away, he said. Any toys that did not get distributed would be given to local church groups, Poe said.
In years past, the Salvation Army and Yukon Sharing both held separate toy drives for the eastern part of Canadian county, Poe said. Three years ago, the two groups joined forces to create Santa’s Toy Shoppe.
He said in the past they measured their success by how many of the two most popular toys they received: bikes and Barbie dolls. They ran out of neither this year, Poe said.
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