TOLEDO, Ohio — Lucas County Children Services caseworkers are already choosing gifts for the kids in their care ahead of the WTOL 11 Gift of Joy toy drive.
The county's goal is to keep the gift-giving spirit of Christmas alive for children in need. The LCCS Toy Room opened on Monday and went from a full inventory to nearly empty in just a few hours.
Over the next few weeks, caseworkers will be working to provide gifts for children living in foster care, with relatives or with their families under LCCS supervision.
Last year, more than 22,000 donations were made and county representatives say every gift was necessary because the number of children who need a proper Christmas continues to grow. This year, the county expects to help more than 2,000 children and will be collecting necessary gifts like clothes, shoes and hats and then extending the collection to nonessentials like toys, books, bikes and more.
"All of that comes here into the toy room. We're going to turn this room over 10 or 15 times over the next three or four weeks," said LCCS spokesperson Kevin Milliken. "Our caseworkers have already visited the homes, gotten wish lists for the kids and turned those into shopping lists for them when they come into this toy room. We try really hard to give kids their wants for the holidays. The public makes all that happen."
The county anticipates the number of gifts brought in by the Gift of Joy toy drive will continue to grow over the next few years and LCCS aims to break its own record every year.
Milliken said just over half of the kids that the toy drive serves are five years old or younger. So, the agency is asking anyone who can donate to do so, but Milliken said infant and toddler items are specifically requested to fill the toy room.
"We try like heck to give the kids that we serve as normal a childhood as we possibly can even after the abuse and neglect has happened," he said. "One of the biggest ways that we can do that is during the holiday season, every kid deserves to open gifts under the tree or whatever religion that they practice. Every kid deserves that."
LCCS has an online wish list and gift collection begins Friday, Nov. 17 and runs through Dec 22. WTOL 11 is also hosting its annual downtown Gift Drop at the station at 730 N. Summit St. on Dec. 7.