Spark of Love Toy Drive

Every year the San Bernardino Fire Department holds the Spark of Love toy drive. Basically, three families are chosen per elementary school for an invitation only event in which they are able to come to the fire station, get cookies, hot chocolate and such, meet Santa Claus and walk away with some toys. These families are families within the community that without the assistance of this program would not be able to afford the luxury of gifts under the Christmas tree, or even a Christmas tree at all.

This year was no exception, and I wanted to be involved. I called up the organizer and explained that myself and my team would like to assist. I started a campaign at work that would allow my employees to dress casually for the next month if they donated $20 in toys to the Spark of love toy drive. I got a big box (that came from my dining room table) and sat it outside my Stats board with signs on it for donation. If the team donated $20 in toys, I gave them a certificate which they could post outside their cube so that everyone knew why they got to dress casually at work.

Monday, December 18th was the culmination of the toy drive, as this was the evening of the event. It was VERY cold, and I arrived with Caiden in tow at about 5:30pm. The doors didn't open until 7pm, yet there were people lined up down the street to get into the event. Two lines were created. One for those that had invitations (and were chosen by the elementary schools), and one for those that did not have invitations. For those that did not have invitations they were told that they could wait until the event was over, and if we still had toys remaining we would allow them to come in, but there were no guarantees.





Inside volunteers worked to place each toy into the appropriate category (toddler boys toys; toddler girls toys, boys 5 and under, etc...), and prepare for the nights events. One of the chief's dressed up as a Fireman Santa - he was the main attraction.

The doors opened promptly at 7pm, and the families were let in 2-3 at a time. Each family would go get drinks and food then were directed to a table of writers (I was a writer). The writers would write down their name on a post-it note along with the ages and gender of their children. Some families had 9-12 children each. The "writers" would then pass the post it notes to the "runners" who would run around with large bags and fill them with toys for each child. They would then call out the families names and the families would get their bags of toys (some lucky families received bicycles) along with the opportunity to sit on Santa's lap and take a picture with him. It was extremely cold and a bit windy as well. The families from the invited list were so sweet and appreciative. The kids were amazing. I fell in love with one family. The little boy was so excited when he saw a coloring book (that the fire department normally passes out when kids come visit). I saw him eyeing it, but he didn't want to ask for one. I handed him one along with a packet of crayons, and he was SO excited. He looked at that book like it was the BEST thing, and proudly exclaimed to his mom and dad that he got to COLOR in that book. When he was handed the bag of toys his eyes just LIT UP! It was very touching to see all of the children's faces. I only wish I could do more. The evening was a success as each invited family received a bag full of toys for their child/children. We even had some toys left over for the uninvited families.

Just seeing all of these families truly enjoying this chilly night in December just made me even more thankful for everything that God has provided for me and my family. Although Christmas is the time of year that people start thinking about others and tend to be more generous I feel that it is important to sustain these feelings all year long. Who needs a holiday to be thoughtful, generous and caring? At one point or another in our lives, we have needed to rely on the kindness of others, or will need to…I know I have…so why not give a little all year long? Although I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions…if I did, mine would be something like that. Just a thought. :P