QUALITY CONTROL … Volunteers Jocelyn Widney Rodriguez, Stefanie Widney and this reporter stop to test the softness of the stuffed toys.
By: Timothy Kays
Over 20 years ago, Grace Community Church in Bryan was located in Downtown Bryan. The beginning was humble, but like the proverbial mustard seed of Luke 13:18, the growth of the congregation and its ministries was exponential. One of those ministries is the annual Williams County Toys for Tots Giveaway, and it is a sight to behold.
Imagine if you will, a large, open reception area in a church building. Now imagine long tables being set out, end-to-end, in multiple rows that allow for people to walk between.
Finally, imagine a small army of volunteers bringing in large fiber drums full of new and gently used toys. The volunteers begin to unload the toys onto the tables, piling them high with practically every toy imaginable. Are you still with me, because it doesn’t stop there. In the south side of the reception area are new and used bicycles. Along the east wall are board games. Another room adjacent to the reception area is stacked with stuffed toys, practically floor to ceiling, and another has infant and preschool toys.
This is not an event of chaos. Far from it. It is however, so huge in scope that preregistration is strongly recommended, and two shifts are needed to give those in need an opportunity to peruse the tables for toys for their kids and grandkids. For the kids, it is the promise of gifts on Christmas. For the adults, it is a relief in knowing that they will be able to get to put under the tree for Christmas. For the volunteers, it is exhausting…and exhilarating.
Reflecting back at the origins of the program, Grace Community Church Administrator, Shannon Cooley, said, “We were located downtown. People would just drop off stuff…clothing and stuff. And then people started dropping off toys, and we were like, ‘Oh! Well, this would be a great way to minister to people.’ So we started doing the toy giveaway.
Then we partnered with Toys for Tots, we became their distribution site, and it just continued to grow. But the main thing was, God was providing these toys, and we wanted to give them out in His name. So we started that.” “The big thing is that this is a partnership with Toys for Tots,” Shannon continued. “You know, we don’t do this on our own. This is a community effort, and so we really appreciate everyone that helps with that. Toys for Tots provides some of the toys, and then they take care of all the fundraising.
We are their distribution site, but we recognize that there’s a lot of agencies and a lot of corporations that give to this, as well as individuals. We’re just really excited that our community can come together like this.” The event is just one day, December 14 this year, and is open to Williams County residents only. That one day is the culmination of 364 days of gathering toys, volunteers sorting out the good from the bad, and volunteers cleaning up the good toys for presentation.
The two shopping shifts last a total of nine hours. While that in its own right meets the aforementioned criterion of a sight to behold, it doesn’t even scratch the surface of the impact created by the event. “We serve 300 to 400 families,” said Shannon. “Our total number of kids is usually right around 900 to 1,000.” An estimated 8,300 kids under the age of 18 reside in Williams County.
If that figure is anywhere close to accurate, then a shade over 12% of the kids in Williams County are receiving something from the tables of Grace Community Church during the annual Williams County Toys for Tots Giveaway.That is a ministry that is quite the sight to behold indeed.
Tim can be reached at tim@thevillagereporter.com
