|
|
|
 Vallarta Living | January 2008 
Biggest Toys For Tots Distribution Ever!
 Peter Gray- PVNN
photos by Dale Hansen
| | To learn how you can help Toys for Tots deliver smiles to thousands of poor children around Banderas Bay everyday, send an email to Dale Hansen at dalehandsome(at)yahoo.com or Peter Gray at albans(at)prodigy.net.mx. | | |
The Toys for Tots distribution of Three Kings' Day gifts this year took on the magnitude of a sizeable military operation. More routes than ever, more kindergarten schools than ever, more toys than ever.
In the days preceding the great hand-out, there were teams to assemble, routes to be planned and scouting trips to be made to ensure a smooth operation on distribution day.
There were 12,000 toys to be unpacked, sorted and bagged in manageable sizes. The toughest job was to get 5000 footballs inflated. As Navy League volunteers discovered, that's a lot of blowing-up with only three small air compressors to do the job!
D-Day was Monday, January 7th - the day the children returned to classes. By 7 am, the parking lot at the Marriott Hotel was filled by over a hundred volunteers loading the toys into the dozens of vehicles that would fan out to cover places as far afield as San Sebastian in the Sierra Madres, Sayulita on the coast to the north, Cabo Corrientes on the coast to the south and dozens of villages on the way.
Among the Colonias visited closer to home were Bobadilla, Bugambilias,Villa Las Flores, Los Ramblases, Lazaro Cardenas, Pitillal and many more. One team would go so far afield they planned to travel beyond San Sebastian and finally overnight in Talpa.
It was a chilly start for the volunteers, who ranged from octogenarians to teen-agers from the American High School. The Marriott hotel staff were praised fulsomely for serving hot coffee and rosca cake - especially by those who had skipped breakfast in order to arrive on time.
By 8 am, the route captains were each leading their caravan of trucks, SUV's and cars laden with toys off to do the real work of the day. Among the leaders were the indefatigable U.S. Consular agent Kelly Trainor, together with Josefina Naya of the Marriott. Bill Semeyn, Bill Clark, Fred Piontkowski and Jeff Miltenberger - all of the Navy League.
It is impossible to capture in words what happens when a team arrives unannounced at a rural school for 4-6 year olds. To capture the look of anticipation on a hundred small faces as they begin to anticipate the gifts to come. Their wide-eyed inspection of the Kings in their robes and crowns. One is charmed at the good behavior of these small children as they obediently line up in two lines - one for the girls and one for the boys - and come forward to receive their gift.
Some are so shy that only their eyes signal their gratitude. Others are braver and whisper "Gracias." At the end, their teacher lines them up to shout a group "Gracias y Adios" and the caravan drives away up a dusty, rutted road to the next stop.
As further help to the schools, pens and other supplies donated by the Stockton, California Navy League Council were handed over to the teacher. Toys were also given to the Mexican Naval base, the Down Syndrome organization, Pasitos de Luz and the Santa Barbara orphanage. 1600 toys were given to the Sistema DIF Municipal for them to distribute to eight schools around the city.
The objective of Toys for Tots is to bring a smile to the faces of those thousands of children who would not otherwise experience the simple joy of receiving a gift during the holiday season. An incidental and priceless gift is received by the scores of people who take part in the distribution.
A simple anecdote may help illustrate the kind of interaction they experience with the children. A little boy was upset to see only one King arrive at his school. "What happened to the other two Kings?" he asked anxiously. "Are they alright?"
"Well," he was told. "Right now, one is at La Esperanza and the other is at Santa Domingo de Ixtapa." The little boy's face lit up. "Yes, I understand. They have a lot of kids to visit!"
|
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us