SEQUIM ¬– A fearsome cold had descended on Sequim on Tuesday morning, but it failed to daunt dozens of will-be Santa Clauses lined up outside one of the biggest conglomerations of gifts for miles around.
The amateur Santas came, wrapped in mufflers, mittens and blankets ¬– some with babies bundled into snowsuits — to wait for the start of Sequim Community Aid’s annual toy giveaway at 9 a.m.
When the doors opened, these moms and dads were rewarded with nothing less than wonderland.
Inside the Trinity United Methodist Church, 23 tables and four long wooden pews were laden with dolls, books, games, crafts, model kits, baby clothes and every imaginable stuffed animal from Tigger to Tweety Bird to Sponge Bob.
One side of the room was awash in blankets with a big box of Beanie Babies in the center, with a note that said “Please take 1 or 2 or 3.”
All of this was donated, said Shirley Anderson, one of 26 Sequim Community Aid “elves.”
Hundreds of gifts
These helpers, along with some two dozen other volunteers, including Community Aid president Donna Tidrick, spent all day Monday laying out the hundreds of gifts by age group and type.
The donations were so abundant this year that a second batch was put out at noon, Tidrick said.
A Clallam County Fire District 3 engine-load, plus a few vans full of presents, all from anonymous community members, had been delivered the day before.
And the elves — men and women of widely varying ages, wearing furry red caps and festive sweaters — served as personal shoppers to the parents who came to search for a few magic things to leave under the Christmas tree.
Chris Chesterfield came seeking dolls and games for his children, who are 6, 7, 9 and 11 years old.
He was among the people who got in line long before 9 a.m., before the temperature cleared 21 degrees.
Bryan Constant was another dedicated dad.
“I got here at 3:30 a.m.,” he said, simply “for my kids,” Cameron, 3, and Alexia, 1.
Others said they arrived, to wait in their cars, at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.
In the first hour of the giveaway, 120 children had been shopped for. After the church closed at 4 p.m., Tidrick counted 460. That was 60 more than last year.
“There are so many young people who are really struggling,” she said.
“A lot of the ones who are working have had their hours cut.”
Throughout the day, Tidrick greeted the parents, admired the babies in strollers and sent them into the brightly lit roomful of gifts.
In yet another wing of the church were the pieces de resistance: 28 bicycles, donated before and during Tuesday’s giveaway.
Claude Cole, the bike shepherd, helped parents pick out the right sizes.
He started working on bikes for the giveaway “sometime in the ’90s,” and added that every year, one parent reminds him what Christmas is about.
Bike for a little girl
This year it was a divorced mother of two who couldn’t afford a bike for her little girl — until she found one of Cole’s.
She wept tears of joy when he gave her the handlebars.
Tuesday’s crowd was made up mostly of early birds, with the parents of 360 children arriving before noon.
“Thank God we have more toys than last year,” Cole said.
Just in his bike stable, he had 10 more steeds than in 2007.
After the last bicycle, a petite pink one, had been wheeled away, Cole stood back.
“I love this,” he said.
Sequim Community Aid has been giving away toys at Christmas since 1947.
In the years since, it has become a year-round provider of aid to local residents who are struggling to pay utility bills and rent.
It also ¼helps with bus fare and gas money for travel to job interviews and doctor appointments, and with other basic living expenses.
Residents who live in the Sequim School District — roughly from Blue Mountain Road to Gardiner — are eligible for assistance.
Now, as when Sequim Community Aid began, it runs wholly on donations and receives no government funding.
Nobody on the staff, including Tidrick, who has worked with the organization for 25 years, receives a paycheck.
Tax-deductible contributions may be mailed to Sequim Community Aid, P.O. Box 1591, Sequim, WA 98382.
For information, phone 360-681-3731.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@ peninsuladailynews.com.
