SEQUIM — Sequim Community Aid’s giant toy giveaway will descend, Santa-and-reindeer-like, on the east side of town to provide a day of free shopping for local parents Dec. 18.
The annual event will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., near Carrie Blake Park in Sequim.
Behind the scenes
Shirley Anderson and her sister, Alice Rapasky, are among the volunteers working behind the scenes this year, buying presents for the children, preteens and teenagers of parents who otherwise couldn’t afford much Christmas.
Using the cash donations that have flowed in from Sequim area residents, the women have picked out presents especially for middle-school-age girls and boys — that age group that can be hard to buy for.
“Most people like to give things for little kids,” said Anderson, a Sequim Community Aid volunteer since she retired in 2002.
So she and her sister got busy shopping for 12-, 13- and 14-year-olds, and filling goody bags with decks of cards, warm socks, school supplies, personal care products and snacks that fit inside a youngster’s backpack.
The middle-school-age category is just one among the many at the big event.
Donna Tidrick, the veteran organizer of the toy giveaway, spends the weeks leading up to it sorting gifts by type, age group and gender.
This way, when parents come into the church hall, they can easily find the tables laden with presents to fit their children’s wish lists.
The “elves,” as they’re affectionately known, also help the moms and dads navigate the room, serving as personal shoppers for anybody who wants a hand.
More than 180 parents
Last year, 188 parents came and found gifts for 425 children, Tidrick said. She expects at least that many this time.
In past years, parents have lined up outside the church — despite bitter cold – several hours before the doors opened for the giveaway.
Tidrick and Anderson emphasized, though, that this is one occasion when it isn’t necessary to get there early, since they have plenty of gifts to go around.
“There’s a lot that is available throughout the day. They don’t need to be worried about that,” Anderson said.
Parents should bring proof, however, that they live in the Sequim School District. A current utility bill or rent receipt or a driver’s license with a current Sequim-area address will suffice, Tidrick said.
The Sequim School District stretches from Blue Mountain Road to the west to Dungeness, Sequim, Blyn and Gardiner to the east.
Sequim Community Aid began in 1947, back when eastern Clallam County didn’t have as many social service organizations as today, Tidrick said.
Struggling families
Now as then, Sequim Community Aid seeks to help individuals, couples and families who are struggling to pay for basic expenses such as electricity and rent.
In the beginning, Christmas meant “a basket of food and a toy,” Tidrick added.
That grew, and grew some more, into the toy giveaway she’s helped coordinate since 1982.
Tidrick, 78, said about five dozen people are helping her make the day happen this year.
“A lot of our elves come back every year,” she said, “and then we get new people, too.”
No one, including Tidrick, collects a paycheck for Sequim Community Aid work.
Tidrick also praised the generosity of the local people who’ve been buying presents for children, or sending checks so volunteers such as Anderson can do the shopping.
“It takes a community to put this on,” Tidrick said. “We couldn’t do it ourselves.”
To support Sequim Community Aid, mail contributions to P.O. Box 1591, Sequim, WA 98382. For information, phone 360-681-3731.
And through Thursday, new, unwrapped toys, games and other gifts– even bicycles, which Tidrick said are a little sparse this year — can be dropped off at the Clallam County Fire District No. 3 headquarters at 323 N. Fifth Ave., Sequim.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.
