Pasco News - May 19, 2005
By Bob Loring

Toys for Tots Pasco has evolved into an effective method of providing toys at Christmas for our neediest children. This mission being accomplished; we are now reaching for the dream of providing other essential items to the families of the children Toys for Tots serves. In past years, many community organizations have stepped up to assist us by providing our precious Tots with school supplies, socks, underwear, toothbrushes, dictionaries and shoes. Ane, for the past four years our families have also received al large box of food staples. Last year, Toys for Tots of East Pasco had full service toy distributions in Dade City, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes/Lutz and the tri-communities of Lacoochee, Tri-Lacoochee and Trilby.

In all, 1,000 families received toys and other items for 3,000 registered Tots.

This year while working with a new exciting organization, S.T.E.P.S. (School Tools that Empower & Promote Success); we intend to utilize our highly successful distribution system to sponsor two additional events with all the communities listed above. In July, we will present a “Health Fair,” offering back to school physicals and a variety of community resource information to the families of these precious children. In August, we have scheduled a “Back to School” event. There each child will receive his/her needed allotment of school supplies; this component will include an important literacy element. Our plans for the 2006 year will include a fourth, and separate, event that will include a “job Fair” for the parents of our Toys for Tots children.

Thanks to the hard work of so very many Pasco residents, the families of our Toys for Tots children are now beginning to trust us. What an opportunity for each of our East Pasco communities to step-up and face the problems and situations of our less fortunate families living in their midst. It is envisioned that soon, each local community event will, logically , begin to take on its own unique personality. Hopefully, each community seeks to address its own unique poverty situation.

If your community , service club, school, business, church group, or individuals wish to assist us in this noble community effort, please contact Isa Blanford, (352) 583-0155 or, Bob Loring, (352) 588-4230. In our start up year, we will need assistance from many licensed medical personal to give the children basic “back to school” physicals at our Health Fair event, and we will need an enormous amount of school supplies donated for the following “Back to School” endeavor. Each of our cities’ local residents and contributing organizations are encouraged to join us and meet, face to face, our participating families. This simple expression in human compassion will go a long way to demonstrate to the families that, in fact, we do care.

Time after time Toys for Tots of East Pasco has benefitted from the donations of our friends and neighbors. We fully expect that our community will, once again, rise to the challenge and help us supply the school-tools necessary for these children now living in the bitter clutches of abject poverty.

They are here, they live among us, and the clock is ticking on our chance to meditate the ever-growing poverty dilemmas faced by each of our East Pasco communities.

Please visit our newly updated Toys for Tots web site
HYPERLINK “http://www.toysfortotspasco.org”

Bob Loring is director of the East Pasco Toys for Tots program.

Site Designed by
PatE's Graphics
www.pegraphics.com