By LOIS KINDLE
The Sun City Center Emergency Squad is once again collecting toys for Veterans Funeral Care’s Operation Toy Soldier. The nationwide not-for-profit program provides toys for the children of veterans and members of the United States military.
“The need has never been greater,” said program coordinator Jennifer Jones. “We’re all struggling this year. Finances are tight, and so many of the families we serve have been displaced by hurricanes. We want to help wherever there is a need.”
Most of the donations go to the families of enlisted men and women, who often have difficulty making ends meet. These include young married couples in their early 20s. A donation or two can make all the difference to them.
The goal is to provide one large and one small toy for each child, but your help is needed to make that happen. The age range for donations is infancy through 17. Even though Operation Toy soldier is a national toy drive, all donations made locally stay local.
“It’s been very slow this year,” said volunteer dispatcher Sheila Houlihan, the Sun City Center Emergency Squad’s OTS collection coordinator. “Last year we collected 42 boxes, and we only have 12 so far this year.”
New, unwrapped toys, gift cards or checks made payable to Operation Toy Soldier can be dropped off in the lobby of the Emergency Squad through Dec. 2. Veterans Funeral Care will pick up everything on Dec. 3 and then deliver the donations to MacDill Air Force Base for distribution.
Both Houlihan and Jones said donations made after those dates will still be accepted.
This is the squad’s ninth year of participation in the Operation Toy Soldier collection, the only one in southern Hillsborough County.
For more information, please call 813-633-1411 and leave a message for Houlihan.
Operation Toy Soldier began 13 years ago and was adopted nationally by Veterans Funeral Care in 2013. To learn more about the effort, visit www.operationtoysoldier.com/.