SEQUIM — This December, Sequim Community Aid will continue its 70-year tradition of providing gifts for children at its Toys for Sequim Kids giveaway.
Slated for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the Sequim Prairie Grange, 290 Macleay Road, volunteers for the nonprofit will provide toys and clothes for babies to children in eighth grade who are living within the Sequim School District boundaries.
Last year, the event provided support to more than 400 children and 100 families.
Donations can be provided in a number of ways.
Clallam County Fire District 3’s main station at 323 N. Fifth Ave. serves as a drop-off location on weekdays.
Christmas trees with slips of paper requesting specific toys can be selected and dropped back off through Monday, Dec. 11, at Grocery Outlet, 1045 W. Washington St.; Clallam Co-Op Farm and Garden, 216 E. Washington St.; YMCA of Sequim, 610 N. Fifth Ave.; and QFC, 990 E. Washington St.
Along with toys and games, Toys for Sequim Kids offers blankets and throws for families.
Boy Scout Troop 1103 will host a blanket-throw drive from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at Sequim Grocery Outlet. The following Saturday, Boy Scout Troop 90 will host a second blanket drive from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 9 at Grocery Outlet.
Also collecting blankets and warm clothing through Dec. 11 are 1st Security Bank, 114 S. Sequim Ave., and Blue Sky Realty, 190 S Priest Road. Participating Realty agencies will also be collecting warm blankets and clothing.
At Toys for Sequim Kids, parents must show proof of residency in the Sequim School District boundaries, sign their names and provide the ages and gender of their children.
A volunteer “elf” will take the parent to gift tables for the selected tables for their children and help them select items.
Each child usually receives a stuffed animal plus two toys — one main gift and one smaller gift — and he/she may also receive an age-appropriate game, book and item of clothing.
Each family receives a game and a throw or blanket. Families can also enter a drawing to win a bicycle at the end of the event for their child if he/she doesn’t have a bicycle.
Organizers also seek volunteers for the event who enjoy being in a giving environment.
Sequim Community Aid, a nonprofit, provides year-round help with utility and rent for those in need. Call Sequim Community Aid at 360-681-3731 for assistance and/or to volunteer.
Monetary donations can be mailed to Sequim Community Aid, P.O. Box 1591, Sequim, WA 98382. Checks for Toys for Sequim Kids should state “toys” on the memo line. To donate to the agency for utility assistance, leave the memo blank, organizers said.
Jim Davis and Kathy Suta serve as co-chairman for Toys for Sequim Kids.
