For almost 30 years, Combined Community Services’ Toy Time and Toy Giveaway has made Christmas possible for thousands and thousands of children who otherwise might not have had a holiday.
The 29th annual Toy Time is less than a month away, and now may be a good time to start looking at what toys your children have outgrown.
Ami Pitt, CCS Project Independence and Hand-Up case manager, said drop-off begins Dec. 12 and goes through Dec. 15. Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Home & Family Arts Building at the county fairgrounds. The Fair Board provides the building for the event.
“That’s the drop-off of good, quality, playable used toys so clean out those toy boxes and bring us everything you’re done playing with,” she said. “You don’t have to do anything to them, except make sure they’re clean. We do all the processing, so we will tag them. It’s a 50-50 split of what sells. If you choose to give your 50%, too, we just love you more.”
It is a consignment sale, but people can choose to donate their proceeds from their toys that sell.
Friday, Dec. 16 is the set-up day for the consignment sale. Then on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 17-18, “is one awesome toy sale. It is like a garage sale of 150 families with nothing but children’s items,” she said.
Pitt said that when they say “toys,” that’s anything to do with kids except clothing. “We don’t have the facility to handle clothes,” she said. “If you can foresee a child using it in some capacity, we will try to put it through the sale. So anything? you might ask. A motorcycle, well, maybe not. A child wouldn’t drive it. A toy motorcycle? Yes. Books? Yes. Movies? Yes. Furniture? Yes.”
Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 17 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 18.
Monday, Dec. 19 is a prep day, with the toy giveaway being 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 20 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 21.
“All of Kosciusko County, if you need helping getting gifts for your children, come see us,” Pitt said.
With the money CCS makes from the consignment sale, 100% of that goes to purchase new toys. “We put those with Toys for Tots toys and then ABATE brings us baby and teen items and bicycles. And all of those entities working together, cover all of our kids for Christmas,” she said, noting it’s usually around 1,700 children.
“And, of course, what we really want to give them is Jesus. And toys,” she said. “So, since we want to give them Jesus, we also want to give them the ability to read His word, so we do take Bible donations.”
New or used Bibles are fine and they don’t just have to be children’s Bibles.
Pitt said they also try to do gift wrapping so donations of wrapping paper are appreciated.
