Toys For Tots Gears Up For Successful Season

By SHERRI LONON
In The Loop
Published: October 31, 2008

Halloween might be the holiday du jour, but Robert Loring and his team of elves already have their sights set on Christmas as the annual Toys for Tots drive gets started in eastern Pasco County.
The big kickoff for the event is Saturday, but many businesses throughout east Pasco have begun their annual toy drives, said Loring, who serves as the Toys for Tots of East Pasco coordinator. He is charged with overseeing a number of community-based drives within the county. His territory covers Land O' Lakes, Wesley Chapel, Dade City, Zephyrhills and Lacoochee.
The Wesley Chapel drive, headed by community captain Anna Fulk, got its official start Oct. 15. Businesses throughout the central and eastern parts of the county are also starting their efforts.
The need to start early and work hard has always been evident, Loring said, but this year the crunch is on even more.
"More than half the kids in our county are on some form of assistance," he said. Helping them is "going to fall on the community's lap."
Helping organizations like Toys for Tots helps "level the playing field" for children, Loring said.
To make sure families in east and central Pasco have the toys they need for their children, Loring has set up the Toys for Tots drives on the community level. Each community under his direction has its own captain to lead efforts. This, Loring said, helps keep the efforts local and also makes it easy to ensure that toys collected in Land O' Lakes, for example, go to children who need them in Land O' Lakes.
"If someone hands me a toy, it's going to go to a kid in their area," Loring said.
Loring has led eastern and central Pasco efforts for 10 years now. In that time, he's seen the organization grow.
"It just keeps getting bigger," he said.
Toys for Tots of East Pasco helps families who simply cannot afford to pay for holiday gifts for their children. It also works to provide them with socks, underwear and other essentials through the Skivvies For Tots program. A few other programs also work in conjunction with these two, Loring said, including a school supply drive in the late summer and a food drive. Families that receive assistance through any of the programs are recommended through guidance counselors at area schools, Loring said.
For Fulk, helping out Toys for Tots is a calling.
"It's my love for the children," she said of her reasons for volunteering for the past five years. "I need to give of myself."
Fulk said Toys for Tots provides a great way for people to see the real state of their communities.
"My belief is, in every single community throughout the United States, there is always a depressed neighborhood," she said. "I don't care if it's Wesley Chapel or New Tampa where your homes are $500,000 a piece ... there is always a depressed area. These are the people we concentrate on."
Fulk said there are many reasons people need assistance.
"Maybe they lost their jobs," she said. "Maybe there has been a fire. There's always a God-given reason. People need to realize that even though they are very affluent, two blocks away there is somebody that is living on $3,000 a year."
To make certain the Wesley Chapel drive is successful, Fulk and her volunteers get started about Oct. 15. They ask area businesses to place toy drop off boxes or financial donation collection jugs out so the public can reach them. The need, she said, is great.
"People are blinded, as I was once upon a time," she said. "We live in our own world and we don't look beyond that world."
Fulk said there is plenty of time for businesses to request boxes and jugs. She and her team, including co-captain Suse Hilton, will collect donations as many times as pickups are needed. Fulk asks that businesses and people in need of assistance call her at (813) 788-3038 and leave a message if necessary. Wesley Chapel area donors and residents may also contact Hilton at (813) 842-3566 or Dee at (813) 446-0376 for information.
To learn about the Pasco effort or to help, call Loring at (352) 588-4230 or visit www.toysfortotspasco.org.
Last year, Toys for Tots of East Pasco helped more than 1,000 families, for a total of more than 3,000 children. Loring expects the need will grow this year.