Whether you are decking the halls, preparing to light your menorah or simply relishing the glow of the Sonoran light as winter approaches, the holiday season is in full swing.
While making merry, Tucsonans can still find ample opportunity to provide charitable cheer to less-fortunate children and families.
The Salvation Army seeks to make it quick and convenient for the public to help 4,000 local kids while finishing up their own shopping with a Stuff the Bus event from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday at Walmart, 2150 E. Speedway.
Salvation Army public relations director Corey Leith said that the nonprofit hopes to collect at least 20,000 new, unwrapped toys in buses provided in partnership with SunTran, E.W. Scripps and Co., Walmart and Jim Click Automotive.
“Our goal is to fill five buses this year. We are going big: The donations of turkeys at Thanksgiving were amazing, and we think that with the generosity of the community we can make this happen,” said Leith.
Leith credits extensive support from more than 40 local businesses and community partners and numerous volunteers with facilitating the Salvation Army’s annual Christmas toy drives that culminate in Santa’s Toy Shop, in which parents who are struggling financially are able to choose free toys and gifts for their children.
Santa’s Toy Shop is housed this year in a space donated by HSL Properties and is made possible by more than 300 volunteers from Voyager Hotel and RV Resort. Voyager resident Mary Lou Wilton has coordinated the effort for the past six years.
Wilton said volunteers perform a wide range of duties including buying, transporting and bundling toys and other donations.
Voyager volunteers also collect new books for the children.
The entire effort is extremely rewarding for everyone involved, according to Wilton, who comes to Tucson from her hometown of Massillon, Ohio, each winter.
“Many of the residents at Voyager are away from their families, and this puts Christmas spirit into their hearts. They thoroughly enjoy it.
“So many of them tell me how much they look forward to it every year, so it is a win-win situation for all of us,” she said.
For her part, Wilton, 73, and her family have been supporters of the Salvation Army since her father was stationed in Germany during World War II.
“My mother was pregnant with me and he received word that she had gone into labor and was trying to find out if she’d had the baby. He couldn’t get anyone to help him until the Salvation Army came forward and connected him with my mother, who told my dad he had a daughter. After that he supported the Salvation Army until he died at age 95 and I know he would be very proud of what we do here,” she said.
Ramon Gonzales, who is spearheading the 47th annual Miracle on 31st Street Christmas Party at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 23, is another volunteer who is proud of his legacy of helping children during the holidays.
From its beginnings as a backyard barbecue for neighborhood children, the event has grown into a party that provides toys, food and entertainment for 10,000 kids at AVA Amphitheater at Casino Del Sol.
“This is my 47th year and I almost didn’t make it last year, so it feels very good to know I have come this far,” said Gonzales, who suffered a heart attack last fall.
“When I had my heart attack, I said, ‘I have no business laying here in bed. I have to go do my party,’ and God willing, nothing will happen and I will be there again this year,” he said.
Gonzales is grateful for the support of community partners such as PetSmart, which has donated stuffed animals and the Regional Transportation Authority, which collected toys through a Fill the Streetcar event earlier this month. He still needs about 9,000 toys as well as monetary donations to purchase toys and food for goodie bags along with necessities such as insurance.
“God willing, the toys and money will come for the kids and hopefully, if I can last three more years, that will be my 50th year,” he said.
