SEQUIM — Sequim Community Aid’s donation trees are now up across the Sequim area to help local, in-need children through the nonprofit’s annual December event Toys for Sequim Kids.
Known for helping locals with utility and rent payments in the Sequim School District for 74 years, Community Aid’s volunteers will distribute toys, clothes, games and blankets to local parents/guardians from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Sequim Prairie Grange, 290 Macleay Road.
Through Dec. 13, locals can donate items for children from babies to 18-year-olds at multiple locations, including:
• Anytime Fitness, 10135 Old Olympic Highway
• The Co-Op Farm and Garden, 216 E. Washington St.
• Grocery Outlet, 1045 W. Washington St.
• Starbucks, 1095 W. Washington St.
• YMCA of Sequim, 610 N. Fifth Ave.
Each location features a Christmas tree with slips of paper for specific toys and can be left at any of the locations for pickup.
The event helped more than 100 families in 2020, organizers said.
Fire Brigade
Volunteers with Community Aid and Clallam County Fire District 3 sponsor a donation drive from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at the Sequim Village Shopping Center, 651 W. Washington St., by KSQM 91.5 FM.
Firemen will drive the fire department’s antique fire truck each night to the site.
“Last year, enough toys were donated to fill two pickup trucks and we’re hoping for an even better turnout this year,” said Philomena Lund, Toys for Sequim Kids’ co-chair.
Fellow co-chair Kathy Suta said unwrapped toys and/or monetary donations are accepted.
Blanket-throw drive
Both Grocery Outlet and Blue Sky Realty, 190 Priest Road, will collect blankets and warm clothing for Toys for Sequim Kids through Dec. 11.
At the Dec. 15 event, parents and guardians must show proof of Sequim School District residence, and enter the names, ages and genders of their children.
All visitors and volunteers will be required to wear face masks because of COVID-19 pandemic safety protocols, and volunteers also must wear rubber gloves.
No child care is offered and only one parent/guardian can enter for a family during selection.
Once signed in, an “elf” volunteer will guide families to tables and help select age-appropriate gifts for the children.
Organizers said each child usually receives a stuffed animal plus two toys — a main gift and a smaller gift — along with an age-appropriate game, book and an item of clothing.
Each family receives a puzzle or a game, an art or a craft and a throw or a blanket. Families also can enter a drawing for a bicycle if their child does not have a bike.
Volunteers
Organizers are seeking volunteers to serve as elves and toy managers for gift distribution tables.
“We have many repeats, but we lose volunteers every year,” co-chair Jim Davis said. “It’s best to do it while you can and enjoy working in a giving environment.”
If interested, call Sequim Community Aid at 360-681-3731.
More support
Sequim Community Aid offers year-round help with utility and rent in the Sequim area. To help financially, mail check donations to: Sequim Community Aid, P.O. Box 1591, Sequim, WA, 98382. Checks for Toys for Sequim Kids should state “toys” on the memo line.
To donate to the agency for utility assistance, leave the memo blank, organizers said.
Toys for Sequim Kids is co-chaired by Kathy Joiner, Davis, Lund and Suta for Sequim Community Aid.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
