Toys for Tots receives more than 24,000 toys and $140,000 to replace items lost in fire

Donations that poured into Tuscarawas County Toys for Tots shattered records from previous years after fire destroyed the warehouse where the organization had stored some 8,000 Christmas gifts on Dec. 6.

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Nine days after the fire, the Sherrodsville-based nonprofit had received $87,029 in monetary donations and about 8,500 toys directly, according to Kathy Jordan, the daughter of organizer Robert Stratton. Simpson Heating & Air, LLC, of New Philadelphia also collected money and toys for Toys for Tots in addition to making its own donations to the cause. The company had 16,000 to 20,000 donated toys and had received $60,000 to $80,000 in monetary contributions as of Wednesday, according to Steve VanHorn, a manager at the New Philadelphia company.

The exact number of donations were not known prior to the weekend's distributed at locations such as New Philadelphia's Hog Heaven restaurant because toys were counted on their way out to door, according to VanHorn.

"We have also received so many donations of toys that it is unimaginable!," Jordan wrote in an email. "Other Toys for Tots units have brought us toys to help us get up and running again to serve the kids of Tuscarawas County."

She said individuals drove from all over Ohio and from other Toys from Tots units near Pittsburgh to deliver items.

"We are so blessed and grateful," Jordan said.

She said Tuscarawas County Toys for Tots probably collected about $15,000 and 20,000 items in its previous best year. Last year, the group served about 3,100 children.

VanHorn reflected on the spirit of giving amid the warehouse full of toys on Tuesday.

There were weight sets, bikes, electronic keyboards, motorized ride-on toys, playground sets, hoverboards, sports equipment, skateboards, gaming chairs, game tables, blankets, games, fishing poles, art supplies, kayaks, Legos and beauty supplies.

Yes, kayaks.

"We have ... thousands of sports balls," VanHorn said. "Every kid needs a sports ball at some point. If you're not a sports person, we've got keyboards, we've got scooters, all kinds of good things.

"It's just something touching to know when you walk around all these gifts, that every single one of them is going to mean something so special to a kid," he said. "You can't walk in the facility and not be touched by just the generosity of the community."

Chad Simpson, owner of Simpson Heating & Air, agreed.

"It's not me and Steve," he said. "It's so many others. We couldn't do it without the community and the volunteers."

VanHorn said the effort, a project of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, has enough money and toys for this year. He advised those wishing to help to hold their donations for next year or give them to another worthy cause now.

Simpson's helps Toys for Tots every year by collecting donations from the public. It also buys a toy for every one that is donated, and matches individual monetary donations up to $100, according to VanHorn. The company organized a collection Dec. 12 at New Philadelphia's Tuscora Park that caused a blocks-long traffic jam.

VanHorn said Simpson's was aided by the New Philadelphia Walmart, which sold matching gifts to the company at heavy discounts. He said no items were pulled from Walmart shelves. The merchandise was overstock, Black Friday merchandise, or in shipping containers or warehouses, VanHorn said.

"We were very clear, like, 'We don't want anything off the shelf that people might be coming in to purchase for their own kids,'" he said.

Berner Trucking of Dover helped by transporting pallets full of merchandise from the New Philadelphia Walmart to the Simpson Heating & Air warehouse in Dover.

Community groups and individuals pitched in to help organize the donations.

Donations poured in from throughout the county.

A booster club from the Indian Valley Schools dropped off a trailer load of toys at the Simpson's 10,000-square-foot warehouse.

Local 4265 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, representing Uhrichsville firefighters, collected an ambulance full of toys. The union wrote a $500 check to the local Toys for Tots.

"There are no words that could possibly express how proud we are of this community," Uhrichsville fire Capt. Wes Dillon wrote afterward. " Our firefighters wanted to do whatever we could to make sure all kids would still be able to have a Christmas after the tragic fire that burnt down the local Toys for Tots building."

VanHorn said a Toys for Tots Christmas gift can change the life of a child whose year has been filled with need and disappointment.

"This could be a pivotal point in their life," he said. "This could be something that helps to make their life a little bit different. That's our goal, is to really to impact and change these lives for the good."

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Toys for Tots receives much more than was lost in warehouse fire