Here's a summary of the TOY PROGRAM to date:
The members of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association (RCWA)
have combined our love for woodworking and our love for kids into a Toy Making
Program – we have made and delivered over 4500 handcrafted wooden toys to
underprivileged children in South Dakota
since we started in 2008. This is an
ongoing program. We get satisfaction from
seeing children enjoying the toys, often their only gift.
The purpose of the Toymaking Program is to enhance the quality
of life for underprivileged children of the Black Hills
and other parts of South Dakota. Within our Rapid City Woodworkers Association,
we have developed a special year-round Toy Making Program for making and
distributing handmade holiday gifts and toys to charitable organizations in the
local area. More than a dozen members
work year around in their own garages (and sewing rooms) as well as in monthly
Saturday Toy Workshops to produce these quality wooden toys. Before Christmas, the toys are distributed to
various organizations in the area.
The program is growing:
we made 300 toys our first year in 2008, 1260 in 2009, 1430 in 2010,
1620 toys in 2011. We had the toys ready
in time for Christmas giving and were distributed (at no cost) to various
organizations in the area.
We have been working all during 2012 on toys as well. We held monthly workshops throughout the year
and then weekly Saturday morning workshops during the months of October and
November. We are on track to be finished
by the first week in December, and gather to distribute the toys the first week
of December.
Our workshops during October and November were held at
the RCWA Shop in the basement of the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church located at 910 Wood Ave. in Rapid City. Every Saturday
morning from 9
am til noon,
you could find six to twelve members working on making parts or final assembly
of toys. During October and November
there was also lots of time spent in individual’s shops preparing parts for the
assembly time on Saturdays. We have taken advantage of warm weather this year and are currently approaching a total of 1800 toys built this year.
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