The animal cutouts were put into handmade lined bags in preparation for distribution to children in various agencies in the Black Hills. Then the distribution line was setup and toy lists prepared. The Airmen and Family Readiness Center was having its Christmas party on Dec 3rd, so we packaged their toys first. Then we proceded down the list, filling boxes with toys, for the remaining 14 agencies. The agencies in the Black Hills included six separate programs under the Youth and Family Services Prenatal to Five Headstart Program serving youth from Spearfish to Edgement and all points in between, the Youth and Family Services Boys Health Advocacy Program, Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity, The Club for Boys, two groups of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Working Against Violence, Inc.(WAVI), Benji's House and Needs Free (Sioux Falls). A total of 1620 toys were packaged and readied for distribution.
The toys for the Airmen and Family Readiness Center were delivered to Ellsworth Air Force Base by Rick Weisbeck shortly after packing them. The toys for Needs Free were picked up by Gary Graves who will be delivering them to Sioux Falls next weekend. The toys for the Club for Boys will be delivered on Monday Dec 5th at 1 pm. The toys for the Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity will be delivered next week by Larry Diebert. The toys for the Youth and Family Services will be delivered by the TOYMAKERS en mass to the main center at 1920 N. Plaza Blvd in Rapid City on Monday Dec 12th around 9 am. The toys for CASA will be delivered by Julian Wigen and Darwin Buus next week. Finally, the toys for WAVI and Benji's House will be delivered next week by Rick Weisbeck.
The total number of toys distributed this year was 1,620. Hats off to all the toymakers who contributed to this effort during the entire year from January 2011 to Dec 2011. Year-around toymakers included Roger Bares, Gary Graves, Trish Graves, Harley Schmadeke, Grant Coffin, Mary Coffin, Lon Gose, Julian Wigen, Lauren Levin, Judy Levin, Kathie Buchanan, Rick Weisbeck, Darwin Buus, Bel Felix, and Bob Buchanan. Seasonal toymakers who helped out at crunch time included Steve Larson, Ron Dolin, Gary and Denise Kohama, and Larry and Linda Deibert. Many thanks also goes to our "suppliers" who include J & D Woodworking, Inc., Dakota Kraft, Wendy's, Magnum Enterprises, LLC, Rushmore Forest Products, Wilkinson Custom Cabinets, and numerous other generous Black Hills residents.
The standard line of toys for 2011 included small cars, crayon vans, tugboats, racers, sedans/PT Cruisers, Buses, Tractors, turtle banks, animal cutouts, cup and ball games, basketball games, puzzles, and rocking chairs.
