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 Previous: Enhanced Regional, National Cooperation Focus of ARES-RACES-MARS Meeting |  Next: ISS Expedition 10 Commander Breaks In New Ticket with School Group Contact |
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 1, 2004--With time still to spare and with the help of key "relay" service by local radio amateurs the ARRL holiday toy drive has collected truckloads of toys--1650 and counting. The project, which is folding into the United Way's White Doves Holiday Project, aims to brighten the holidays for children displaced or left homeless by the hurricanes that ravaged Florida earlier this year.
"The toy drive has snowballed and taken on a life of its
own," says ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, who
spearheaded the ham radio effort. "Hundreds of groups, clubs and individuals
have responded with such energy and cheer that it already is a great holiday
season. People just kept going past Thanksgiving and provided more help for the
kids than initially imagined for such a simple enterprise." Pitts says the
effort generated a lot of goodwill for the Amateur Radio community as well.
 Ham radio operators and White Doves volunteers show off just a few of the truckloads of toys sent by ARRL members nationwide: (L-R) Nancy Deacon, KD4HSS, Bill Deacon, KD4HST, Don Knight, Dick Schichtell, Ken Ziegler, Steve Blary, Dave Smith, Romund Madson, Lou Timmerman and Margaret Innes, another longtime White Doves volunteer. |
Boxes full of toys from radio amateurs nationwide have been pouring in to the United Way of Martin County office in Stuart, Florida. As of November 23, more than 190 clubs, groups and individuals had contributed either toys or checks. Cash donations total nearly $5000, and even more toys and contributions continue arriving daily. White Doves volunteers are doing an inventory on the toys this week. Two buildings at the Martin County Fairgrounds are serving as the "White Doves Warehouse." A grand opening is set for December 2 (5:30-7 PM). The free, public event will feature refreshments, holiday songs and Santa Claus.
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Radio Amateur
Civil Emergency Service (RACES) members have helped transport toys from the
United Way office to the fairgrounds. There, volunteers will sort the toys for
distribution to needy families on December 20 and 21.
 Ham radio volunteers unload boxes of toys from a truck at the Martin County Fairgrounds while a television crew from Miami's WPBS-TV tapes the action. A TV show about the toy drive is set to air December 23 on the Florida Public Broadcasting System's "New Florida" telecast. |
"We continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity of the ham radio operators," said Carol Hodnett, director of the United Way Volunteer & Community Resource Center, which coordinates the White Doves Holiday Project. "We cannot thank ARRL and its members enough for choosing to support White Doves and the children it serves."
Bill and Nancy Deacon, KD4HST and KD4HSS, are not only ham radio operators but longtime White Doves Holiday Project volunteers and, this year, hurricane victims as well. The Deacons will help to sort toys and assist families on distribution days. Bill Deacon also will hand out turkeys and hams (the White Doves Project also has collected some 20,000 pounds of food). The Deacons' house was flooded during the storms, and they have been living in a FEMA-provided mobile home while repairs are made.
Entering its 16th year, the White Doves Holiday Project
has helped thousands of families with the staples for a holiday meal and toys
for their children. The project expects to serve about 2000 Central Florida families
this year.
| Previous: Enhanced Regional, National Cooperation Focus of ARES-RACES-MARS Meeting | Next: ISS Expedition 10 Commander Breaks In New Ticket with School Group Contact |
