To the Rescue: Playing Santa requires time
For 45 years, the Warren County Rescue Squad has brought a bit of Christmas cheer to children who might otherwise go without the gifts many children take for granted during the yuletide season.
“We took care of 1,047 children last year,” said rescue squad director Fred Hillis, noting Christmas 2001 was the second busiest in the squad’s history due to the sluggish economy which left many parents out of work. “Back in the early 1980s, we had 1,149 one year when the economy was bad and the weather had hurt the nursery business.”
The rescue squad’s 28 members donate their time each year to conduct the drive, giving up to 700 hours each holiday season to making sure the drive is a success.
“The hours aren’t nothing to us. We’re glad to do it,” Hillis said. “We really kind of keep the drive going year round by taking donations of toys or money anytime, but we really kick it in around November.”
Hillis said most of the toys are donated by the general public. Some are new and some are used – and all are appreciated.
The group encourages those bringing new toys to give them directly to someone at the building from 5 to 8 p.m. due to thefts last year from the collection trailer located outside the squad building on Sparta Street.
Hillis said money donated to the cause is also used to buy toys. Specifically, Hillis noted toys for boys and girls ages 9-12 are the toughest to get donated so the squad often has to buy them. The most donated toys are normally for children infant through 7. The biggest request for toys are for children ages from 3 to 5. Monetary donations may be made by sending them to the Warren County Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 205, McMinnville, 37111.
The squad building turns into a kind of Santa’s workshop near Thanksgiving, with toys piled high and organized inside the building. The toys are then sorted and assigned to the children for whom they are intended and made ready for Christmas Eve.
Along with donations from private individuals, Hillis said the squad is also aided by civic organizations, scout troops and churches, all of which help make the drive a success each year.
The hundreds of hours in preparation lead up to Christmas Eve when squad members fan out around the county to play Santa for numerous children as they deliver the toys and goodie baskets.
“The best part of the whole thing is when we deliver them,” Hillis said sporting a big grin. “All the time and effort just pays for itself when you see a little child’s face light up.”
Unlike past years where parents could call to put a child on the list, the squad is asking parents to come by the squad building from 5 to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, to fill out an application. Hillis said that helps keep the records straight so members will know exactly where to go to deliver the toys and exactly what age group to prepare for. By having a written application, Hillis hopes the delivery process will go more smoothly.
“After Christmas Eve and seeing the glad faces of those little children, we turn around and get ready to do it again the next year,” Hillis said. “That’s the way it’s been for 45 years and the way hopefully it will always be as long as there is a need.”