Brandon Twp.- The toys are everywhere and Christmas has yet to arrive.
On Dec. 11, Karen Kukuk and Elizabeth Rheaume stand in a hallway at St. Anne Church, surrounded by toys? Barbie dolls, card games, coloring books, superhero action figures, Hot Wheels cars, Frisbees, Yo-Yos, Legos, and more. Items fall off tables as they pull more stuff from boxes and look around for a place to put it. The Ortonville Lions Club members are in the ‘stocking stuffer? hall, exactly two weeks before Santa is to arrive.
‘I’m probably the world’s best organizer and even this is overwhelming,? said Kukuk. ‘We’ll get there? it might take all night, but we’ll get there… I’m always in the spirit, I love Christmas.?
Around the corner, in a much bigger room, Carol Klenner counts puzzles and Ruth Rogan puts them on a table. Around the perimeter of the room are more tables, laden with a variety of toys, with signs behind each? over here are toys for boys 10-12.
Next to it, a table for girls 10-12. These tables are lighter than the ones across the way that are filled with toys for preschoolers and children ranging from 5 to 9. In the middle of the room, more tables with stuffed animals.
It’s the Community Christmas Toy Store and in less than 18 hours, parents of about 275 children in the Brandon School District will shop for toys for their children at no cost, provided through donations from the community.
‘We will make sure all of these children have Christmas,? said Jan Kurnat, CCTS treasurer. ‘The number keeps growing.?
The day before the store is to ‘open,? Kurnat calls the piles of toys ‘organized chaos.? CCTS volunteers are working to sort toys so parents, escorted by a volunteer, can easily make their selections. Besides the allotted four toys, parents can also choose a book, puzzle, and game. There are wooden toys handmade and donated by the Brandon Woodworkers Club. There are dozens of pillows esconced in pillowcases sewn by customers from Mabelena’s Quilt Shop. The American Plastics Company has donated items. Michigan Chillers Author Jonathan Rand donated 40 of his books.
‘You look at this and you think, ‘This community? what a wonderful group of people, so good, so concerned about their fellow citizens.??
Parish Secretary Mary Ann McCarville has watched people drop off donations of toys for weeks now and is amazed at their generosity as well as the commitment of the CCTS Board.
‘It’s not one month, it’s twelve months,? she said. ‘They plan this far in advance? they are dedicated.?
It’s a community effort and once the toys are counted and sorted, the work is still not done. Kurnat and other volunteers will go shopping later with donated funds, such as the $1,000 check received from the Ortonville Lions Club, to buy gifts for age groups that are underrepresented at the Community Christmas Toy Store, usually 10 to 12-year-old boys and girls.
On Saturday, volunteers arrive at around 7 a.m., and parents begin arriving at 8:30 a.m., with about seven families escorted through the store every 15 minutes, selecting presents and given wrapping paper and supplies as well to finish at home.
While the toy store is open only the one day, St. Anne Christian Services Coordinator and OCEF Food Pantry Director Karyn Milligan said three desperate families showed up on the church’s doorstep last year on Christmas Eve.
‘They had nothing,? she recalled. ‘One mother had been in the hospital for two months and had just been released and the other families didn’t know we were here. We were able to take care of these emergencies because of the generosity of this community.?
She pauses, crying, and waves a hand around at the room overflowing with gifts.
‘This is our community at work. This is what Christ asked us to do? feed our lambs.?