Hundreds turn out for holiday toy drive

MERRY AND BRIGHT

The holiday toy drive was a night of merrymaking and gift giving Dec. 17, with a couple of hundred residents in Clubhouse 2 to celebrate the season.

The event had all the hallmarks of Christmas—toys for little ones that will be under the tree on Christmas day, cookies and cocoa handed out by Theater Club elves, seasonal (and rock ‘n’ roll) music and even a dancing Santa.

The GRF thanks Optum for donating the treats, and the Brown Descents Car Club for collecting and distributing toys to the more than 250 children and teens that the group serves. It was a happy coincidence the GRF was able to connect with this club car charity. The Brown Descents’ big toy collection event was rained out in October. Meanwhile, the GRF learned that the Marine Reserves’ Toys for Tots program would not be collecting toys in Leisure World this year due to scheduling conflicts.

This was a problem because LW is legendary for its massive toy drives, rivaling Farmers and Merchants Bank most years for first or second place as the top toy collectors in Orange County.

It turns out that GRF Building Inspector Mike Meza and Recreation Manager Kathy Thayer put their heads together to save this year’s toy drive campaign.

Meza reports that enough toys were collected from LW to make Christmas bright for all the kids affiliated with the Brown Descents.

He and Robert Esparza, president of the club, attended the toy drive Dec. 17 to thank LW residents for their generosity, saying they saved Christmas for a lot of disadvantaged Orange County kids.

There will be a short video featuring the gift distribution on lwsb.com in the coming days.

—Ruth Osborn, managing editor