Hams from all over responding to ARRL Toy Drive

Generous radio amateurs have been answering the ARRL's call to help Florida youngsters displaced by the hurricanes earlier this year.

Shipments of toys from more than 100 clubs, groups or individuals already have arrived at the Martin County United Way collection site in Stuart, Florida, and more are showing up every day.

The ARRL initiated the toy drive to brighten the holidays for youngsters left homeless or displaced as a result of several hurricanes that struck Florida earlier this year. The League's campaign will fold into the United Way's White Doves Holiday Project.

"The Southern Oklahoma Amateur Radio Emergency Service (SOARES) wants to ensure the smallest victims have a good Christmas," says Claude Williams, KD5PHQ, who was among the radio amateurs who witnessed the destruction the
hurricanes caused in Florida. "Kids don't understand why they don't have their homes. They don't have their beds, they don't have the things they're used to." SOARES members and other amateurs in southern Oklahoma are among those contributing to the drive.

In North Carolina, Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, reports that the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society (RARS) collected 61 toys in just one evening meeting. The club has made arrangements with the United Way staff in Florida for a personal delivery on December 15. Meanwhile, club members are gathering
even more toys and donations and hope to double or even triple their collective toy drive contribution.

An article November 14 in The Kentucky Standard reported the involvement of the Kentucky Amateur Radio Society (KARS) in the toy drive. The news account, quoting local drive organizer Tammy Brooks, KC4CTB. "I can't imagine not having a Christmas," she said. The newspaper report included a list of drop-off points throughout the paper's coverage area.

Tommy Thompson, KD4TJO, in Memphis, Tennessee, reports the Delta Amateur Radio Club is working on collecting toys in the Memphis area, and several members had brought their contributions to the club's last meeting. Hams from Florida's Miami-Dade area scheduling a stop in Broward County to collect more toys on their way a delivery in Martin County.

The Framingham Amateur Radio Association (FARA) in Massachusetts assisted teacher Donna LaRoche's first graders by covering all shipping costs for the seven large boxes of toys they contributed.

In South Carolina, members of the York County Amateur Radio Society (YCARS) also responded to the ARRL's call by donating dozens of new toys. YCARS President Van Brown, KG4LUT, and Trustee Bob Bacharach, WA2EMF, organized the toy drive saying. "We are glad for the chance to do
something to brighten their lives in a small way," they said.

The United Way staff in Florida has been posting QSL cards accompanying the toys and monetary donations. Carol Hodnett, director of the Volunteer & Community Resource Center, says the toy drive is going very well. "I just got off the phone with a ham operator from Atlanta who is doing a
drive for us there," she noted. "Everyone has been so nice!"

Associate Director Diane Tomasik said the toy drive also received help from hams in Clearwater, Florida, and from Motor City Radio Club in Michigan.

"The staff really felt a heart tug when we opened a box of teddy bears from Martin King, N3FHD, of Plainville, Georgia," she said. "They were handcrafted by his late wife, Beverly R. Bauer, KD4NHP, with a lot of love put in."

Tomasik said the United Way staff enjoys reading the notes hams have written on their QSL cards or included with their checks. "It is so heartening to know that so many kind and generous people are reaching out to the children of our area to ensure that they have a happy holiday," she said.

Hams across the country are encouraged to purchase an unwrapped toy for a boy or girl aged 1 to 14 and send it with a QSL card or 3x5 card displaying their call sign to: Ham Radio, The United Way White Doves Project,
50 Kindred St--Suite 207, Stuart, FL 34994.

Monetary donations also are welcome. Send gifts and donations prior to Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 25. Martin County United Way has agreed to serve as the collection point for donations and will coordinate
distribution to youngsters in surrounding counties.

Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The American Radio Relay League

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