Hundreds of families. More than a thousand gifts. It all came together recently for Plateau residents who needed an extra hand putting on Christmas morning thanks to two fundraisers held by Enumclaw and Buckley firefighters and volunteers.
Buckley firefighters handed out gifts to more than 150 families Saturday morning, providing holiday cheer for hundreds of local kids.
“This year we’re seeing our biggest number of kiddos,” said Firefighter Kelsie Murray, who organized the event this year. “It’s just under 300 kids that we’re serving today.”
The project is put on yearly by the Buckley Volunteer Firefighter’s Association, and this is its 21st year. The toy drive collects new, unwrapped gifts and money donations from the community for kids from zero to 18 in the White River and Carbonado school districts.
About a dozen of the firefighters have worked on the project since November this year, Murray said, and it culminated with the fire department’s engine bay transforming into Santa’s workshop for the weekend.
Families drove through the station, where the crews loaded big bags of gifts into their cars. Each kid got a bag of gifts with eight to 10 presents, Murray said, thanks to “a mountain” of donations from the community and local businesses.
“It ranges from little mats that infants can crawl on, to building blocks and skateboards and helmets, all sorts of electronics; hygiene products, gift cards, some virtual reality headphones, Bluetooth speakers.”
Families also received referrals for services, and those with little kids got diapers and wet wipes too.
“This is community helping community for sure,” Murray said.
In preparing for the toy drive, Murray spent time registering families and hearing their stories about trying to make ends meet.
“I’m hearing a lot of, ‘I haven’t been able to give my kids Christmas since COVID hit. I lost my job, I lost my husband, I lost my wife.’ It seems as though we’re still feeling the effects of COVID,” Murray said. “And the rising prices of everything, coupled with things like the windstorm we just had … that’s what we’re working with in the community.”
The Buckley Fire Department only has one paid employee. The rest are all volunteers, and the volunteer firefighter’s association is made up of crewmembers who organize events like the toy drive and the yearly Santa run. They also visit schools, size bike helmets and otherwise try to help kids stay safe, Murray said.
This is the first year Murray has organized the toy drive. Previously, firefighter Angie Riggsby and retired firefighter Bill Boyle ran the program for two decades.
North of the White River, Enumclaw’s Plateau Kids Network, headed by local firefighter Maryn Otto, was also able to bring Christmas spirit to about 400 children, thanks to the generosity of her community.
She said the gifts are super important – especially to the kids that receive them – but added that this toy drive has a deeper meaning for her.
“My goal… is to give them a moment of normalness,” Otto said, adding that one of the most important things a child does after Christmas is share with their friends what their holiday was like.
I want to “give them a story to tell, connections that are meaningful,” she continued.
While she and her volunteers were putting together shopping bags for families (it used to be that parents would come “shop” for the gifts at the Enumclaw Expo Center, but that changed this year), Otto was hard-pressed to come up with a total number of toys, books, games, and other donations made to the PKN this year.
However, she did note that this year’s donations were up to just half of what was donated last year, possibly a result of the recession. Thankfully, Otto’s nonprofit had unclaimed gifts from years past, meaning the PKN didn’t have to limit what it usually provides to families during the holiday season, but she also hopes this is an aberration and not a new trend.
Otto also said that the fewer families that signed up this year – about 560 kids received gifts in 2021 – but not every family signs up every year.
In fact, several families that found themselves not needing the extra assistance this holiday season came in to volunteer their time “to pay it forward”, Otto said, which warmed her heart.
One final note about gifts this year – Bonney Lake’s HopsNDrops helped donate several bikes to the PKN for children 9 years old or younger. Because families gave the nonprofit a less-specific wish list for gifts this year, Otto was unable to place these bikes with families.
If your child would like a bike, Otto can be contacted at plateaukidsnetwork@gmail.com.
Photo by Alex Bruell Buckley firefighters load gifts into a family’s vehicle during the Giving Tree Event last Saturday. Nearly 300 kids got big bags of presents.
Photo by Alex Bruell Santa Claus – really Buckley Log Show President Jeff Fetter – helps Steffen Hintz pick out candy canes for his young ones at the fire station.
The Enumclaw Expo Center’s Les Schwab Hall was filled with all manners of toys, games, and books for all ages last weekend as Plateau Kids Network volunteers like Tanna Bunker, pictured, put together shopping bags for local families based on their kids’ gift likes and preferences. Photos by Ray Miller-Still
Photo by Ray Miller-Still The Enumclaw Expo Center’s Les Schwab Hall was filled with all manners of toys, games, and books for all ages last weekend as Plateau Kids Network volunteers like Tanna Bunker, pictured, put together shopping bags for local families based on their kids’ gift likes and preferences.
