NORWICH – Giving others, especially children, hope on Christmas is one of the greatest gifts of all, says Bainbridge resident Roger Barnhart, adding that sometimes it only takes a simple gesture of kindness.
Barnhart, the postmaster of the South New Berlin post office, and employees from The Label Gallery in Norwich, are gathering and distributing new toys as part of Chenango County’s “Toys for Tots” campaign.
“There are needy kids out there in our communities that may feel like nobody cares. They may feel like they are forgotten,”“ he said. “Hope is a big thing. It’s important we let those kids and their families know they are not forgotten.”
Area residents are encouraged to drop-off new, unwrapped toys Saturday afternoon at two local events: The “Challenge of the Vans” in the City of Norwich’s East Park and the arrival of the U.S. Marine Corps’ “Toy Train” in the Village of Bainbridge center.
In Norwich, four local car dealers have each entered a mini-vans into the challenge to see which one can hold the most donated toys. Aside from the van challenge, there will also be music and other festivities in the park from noon until 4 p.m.
“Chris (Ulatowski, owner of Label Gallery) thought of this event with the idea of getting the community more involved, more aware,” said Dennis Rifanburg, a Toys for Tots volunteer and Label Gallery employee.
At noon in Bainbridge, U.S. Marines will be unloading donated toys to go to the local drive and special guest Santa Claus plans to step-off the box car for a few minutes to meet with children on what will be a whistle-stop tour of the state.
“This really is a special event,” said Barnhart, referring the grandiose and almost “magical” arrival of the holiday toy train. “It brings back a lot of great Christmas memories and feelings from childhood. When it pulls up and Santa steps off, to see everyone so excited – it makes the hair on your neck stand-up.”
For those who can’t attend the weekend events, new and unwrapped toys can be dropped off until Dec.15 at one the many sites throughout the county.
The campaign will also be taking can and bottle donations Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Kelly’s Kans on 6067 East River Road between Cummings Auto Machine and the Chenango Drug and Alcohol building in Norwich. The money raised will go toward purchasing new toys as needed.
