In Lewis County this year, thousands of children will wake up on Christmas morning to find toys underneath their family Christmas trees or left inside a stocking.
For many families, this will be a Christmas miracle brought to life by the Salvation Army in Centralia.
The Salvation Army started its yearly toy distribution event on Thursday after weeks of preparations.
The annual event turned the local Salvation Army building in Centralia into a wonderful Christmas toyshop with thousands of donated toys. The nonprofit’s main multipurpose room was filled with toys centered around an inflatable Yeti welcoming families to the event.
Families that signed up to participate showed up for their appointments on Thursday to be guided through the toy shop by staff and volunteers and take home a bundle of toys for their little ones.
According to local Salvation Army Captain Gin Pack, the Salvation Army brought in roughly 7,000 toys this year to distribute to children in Lewis County. Each family that visited the Salvation Army toy shop took home at least three gifts from the event for each of their children. The toy shop will hand out toys of all sizes along with books, clothing, coloring supplies and activity kits for children.
Families are taking home stuffed animals, balls, board games and a warm clothing item such as gloves, hats or quilts. They can also take home either a box of food or a $50 gift card to a local grocery store to help with buying food during the holiday season. The local Salvation Army will distribute around $10,000 in gift cards over two days.
“Lots of these families are just struggling and trying to get by, and we get to do something that provides inclusion when kids go back to school after their Christmas break,” Pack said. “They get to go back and talk to their friends at school.”
The more than 7,000 toys this year were sorted by a group of at least 25 local volunteers looking to give back. Those volunteers also helped individual families collect their toys on Thursday.
The stockpile of toys will go out to more than 600 children in more than 200 households. Residents had a chance to donate toys for the program in one of the nonprofit’s giving tree drop boxes around the county, including at Walmart and Lincoln Creek Lumber. The Salvation Army also partnered with Toys for Tots and the Lewis County local government and used cash donations to purchase any needed additional toys.
On the Lewis County government side, Lewis County Board of Commissioners Clerk Rieva Lester led the charge for toy donations. Lewis County staff get a chance each year to take gift tags and either donate toys themselves or ask friends and family in the community to make a contribution.
“Each year, Lewis County teams up with the Salvation Army to collect gifts for kids in our community,” reads a post on the Lewis County Commissioners Facebook page. “And each year, Lewis County's huge-hearted employees go above and beyond to make the holidays a little brighter for families here.”
