SEQUIM — Ensuring that local children have plenty of wrapped toys beneath their Christmas trees the morning of Dec. 25 has been a long-time goal for Sequim Community Aid.
“It is just so important for kids to have Christmas, and it is just as important for us to help them have Christmas,” Donna Tidrick, president of the nonprofit Sequim Community Aid, said Thursday.
The group will offer underprivileged families a chance to pick out toys and clothing free of charge Tuesday during the annual Toys for Sequim Kids giveaway.
The giveaway will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sequim Prairie Grange, 290 Macleay Road.
Eligible recipients are families living within the boundaries of the Sequim School District.
The toy giveaway is particularly aimed at the unemployed and working poor, Tidrick said.
While some folks may be able to pay their rent and utilities and purchase food, they might not have enough money left over to purchase toys, she said.
That is where Sequim Community Aid can help, she said.
And those who come in for aid are treated with respect, she said.
“We don’t ask you what your income is,” Tidrick said.
“We don’t ask if you are working. We don’t ask any of those things.”
Instead, “all we ask is that you bring a picture ID and some type of mailing that proves you are living at that address now,” Tidrick said.
After checking in, each set of parents is matched with an “elf” — a volunteer who helps pick out toys.
“Elves are people who have volunteered to help the parents select toys for the age group of the children that they have — babies through eighth-graders,” she said.
“We usually give out one big toy, one small toy, some type of board game for a family, depending on age, and clothing,” Tidrick said.
Toys and clothing are handed out as long as supplies last, Tidrick said.
“We had 158 parents last year collecting toys and items for 358 kids, and that is about the norm,” she said.
“That is about what happens every year.”
The group has been collecting toys and clothing for the past several weeks in preparation for Tuesday’s giveaway, Tidrick said.
“The toys have really been pouring in,” she said.
Members of the community can still donate toys and clothing the day of the giveaway at the Prairie Grange, Tidrick said.
Toy donations can be “anything that a child would like,” she said.
Clothing also is requested.
“We need warm clothes, gloves and socks for boys and girls,” she said.
Sequim Community Aid, established in 1947, also offers emergency financial aid to Sequim residents year round.
“We help you pay your [public utility district electric] bill, we help you pay your rent when you are going to be evicted, and we help you with your water when you are going to be turned off,” Tidrick said.
The group is able to offer such assistance solely through donations given by area residents, she said.
“All the money is locally given, and all the money is given right back to [whomever] needs it — people who call us and ask us for help,” Tidrick said.
For more information or to donate, phone Sequim Community Aid at 360-681-3731.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
