Thousands receiving gifts through annual Toys for Tots program

CEDAR RAPIDS - Around 75 volunteers gathered at the Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids Wednesday to give Linn County families a memorable Christmas through The Salvation Army's annual distribution of toys and food boxes.

During this year's event, which continues Thursday, families received food boxes filled with items for a holiday meal, as well as toys donated through the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots Program.

These families received donations based on a specific income need, and organizers say without Toys for Tots, many would not otherwise be able to afford gifts for their children on Christmas.

'It might seem bleak, but we're hoping to help them through that,” said Michele Matt, Toys for Tots coordinator for Linn County. 'Some people need that extra help, and I'm happy to help with that.”

Matt said toys are being distributed to approximately 2,400 children this year.

At the same time, more than 1,300 households have signed up to receive food boxes, said Barbara Logan, co-director of the Cedar Rapids Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army of Johnson County also began distributing toys donated through Toys for Tots on Wednesday to more than 500 families. The program, which runs until Friday, is serving about 1,400 children.

In Linn County, parents arrived at Hawkeye Downs in shifts Wednesday to choose up to two gifts for each child. The donations were collected from more than 100 toy drop-off locations around Linn County, as well as through the Toys For Tots Foundation over the past year.

One attendee of the program Wednesday was Teira Johnson, 26, of Cedar Rapids, who has four children. This is her first year receiving donations through Toys for Tots.

'It's good not having to tell them to wait until after Christmas,” Johnson said, referring to her children's gifts for the holiday.

The toys, intended for children age 14 and younger, include books, stocking stuffers and more than 40 bicycles.

Wednesday's program was an opportunity for Ashley Gorman, a 28-year-old single mother from Cedar Rapids, to get Christmas gifts for her 4-year-old daughter Kaileyah. Gorman is graduating from Capri College, the Cedar Rapids beauty, cosmetology and massage school, this month and says money is tight at the moment.

The gifts she picked were based on her daughter's love of Disney princesses, since Kaileyah has watched all of Gorman's old VHS Disney tapes.

'It's very exciting,” Gorman said.

After choosing gifts for their children, families are handed boxes for their Christmas meal, filled with items that include onions, carrots and ham.

Logan said the fresh produce was purchased by The Salvation Army, but many items were donated by community members or local businesses.

'We get a lot of support from the community and local businesses,” Matt said, adding the collaboration between The Salvation Army and Toys For Tots has been a joint effort for more than 10 years.

l Comments: (319) 368-8536; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com