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 Previous: The Amateur Amateur: Simplexity |  Next: Radio Camp: Learning From One Another |
 White Doves Holiday Project Coordinator Lisa Raynes holds cards made by first graders at Winn Brook School in Belmont, Massachusetts. Behind her are four teddy bears sent by Martin King, N3FHD, of Georgia. The teddy bears were handcrafted by his late wife. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Nov 18, 2004--From tiny Rhode Island to the great expanse of Texas, generous radio amateurs have been answering the ARRL's call to help Florida youngsters displaced by the hurricanes earlier this year. Shipments from more than 100 clubs, groups or individual already have arrived in Florida, and more are showing up every day at the Martin County United Way collection site in Stuart, Florida. The ARRL initiated the toy drive to brighten the holidays for youngsters left homeless or displaced as a result of several hurricanes that struck Florida earlier this year. The League's campaign will fold into the United Way's White Doves Holiday Project.
"The Southern Oklahoma Amateur Radio Emergency Service (SOARES) wants to ensure the smallest victims have a good Christmas," says Claude Williams, KD5PHQ, who was among the radio amateurs who witnessed the destruction the hurricanes caused in Florida. "Kids don't understand why they don't have their homes. They don't have their beds, they don't have the things they're used to." SOARES members and other amateurs in southern Oklahoma are among those contributing to the drive.
In North Carolina, Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, reports that the Raleigh
Amateur Radio Society (RARS) collected 61
toys in just one evening meeting. The club has made arrangements with the
United Way staff in Florida for a personal delivery on December 15. Meanwhile, club
members are gathering even more toys and donations and hope to double or even
triple their contribution to the toy drive.
 The White Doves Holiday Project uses a large building as the warehouse to keep and distribute toys. The debris is left over from repairs to the roof--partially damaged during Hurricane Frances, then destroyed by Hurricane Jeanne. |
An article November 14 in The Kentucky Standard reported the involvement of the Kentucky Amateur Radio Society (KARS) in the toy drive. "Maybe it's not a new home to live in, but it's the thought that somebody remembers you," said the news account, quoting local drive organizer Tammy Brooks, KC4CTB. "I can't imagine not having a Christmas." The newspaper report included a list of drop-off points throughout the paper's coverage area.
Tommy Thompson, KD4TJO, in Memphis, Tennessee, reports the
Delta Amateur Radio Club also is
involved. "We are working on collecting toys here in the Memphis area and had
several members bring some to our club meeting tonight," he said earlier this
week.
 Donna LaRoche's first grade "HAMsters" with some of the toys they collected for the children in Florida. |
Even hams in Florida itself are rallying to the call, with hams from the Miami-Dade . area set to make a stop in Broward County to collect more toys on their way to making a delivery in Martin County.
The Framingham Amateur Radio Association (FARA) in Massachusetts assisted teacher Donna LaRoche's first graders by covering all shipping costs for the seven large boxes of toys they contributed. LaRoche says her HAMsters at Winn Brook School in Belmont see themselves as "just one of the many groups throughout the country who are helping."
In South Carolina, members of the York County Amateur Radio Society (YCARS) also responded to the ARRL's call by donating dozens of new toys. YCARS President Van Brown, KG4LUT, and Trustee Bob Bacharach, WA2EMF, organized the toy drive saying. "At this time of year we reflect on our blessings and keep in mind how difficult it is for children to deal with the loss of home and possessions caused by the devastating hurricanes that assaulted Florida this fall," they said. "We are glad for the chance to do something to brighten their lives in a small way."
 The United Way's Shannon Midkiff, the Volunteer & Community Resource Center's coordinator of volunteer services, sorts out some of the toys that have arrived from radio amateurs across the US. |
The United Way staff in Florida has been posting QSL cards accompanying the toys and monetary donations. Carol Hodnett, director of the Volunteer & Community Resource Center, says the toy drive is going very well. "I just got off the phone with a ham operator from Atlanta who is doing a drive for us there," she noted. "Everyone has been so nice!"
Associate Director Diane Tomasik said the toy drive also received help from hams in Clearwater, Florida, and from Motor City Radio Club in Michigan.
"The staff really felt a heart tug when we opened a box of teddy bears from Martin King, N3FHD, of Plainville, Georgia," she said. "They were handcrafted by his late wife, Beverly R. Bauer, KD4NHP, with a lot of love put in."
Tomasik said the United Way staff enjoys reading the notes hams have written on their QSL cards or included with their checks. "It is so heartening to know that so many kind and generous people are reaching out to the children of our area to ensure that they have a happy holiday," she said.
Hams across the country are encouraged to purchase an unwrapped toy for a boy or girl aged 1 to 14 and send it with a QSL card or 3x5 card displaying their call sign to: Ham Radio, The United Way White Doves Project, 50 Kindred St--Suite 207, Stuart, FL 34994.
Monetary donations also are welcome. Send gifts and
donations prior to Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 25. Martin County United
Way has agreed to serve as the collection point for donations and will
coordinate distribution to youngsters in surrounding counties.
| Previous: The Amateur Amateur: Simplexity | Next: Radio Camp: Learning From One Another |
