| Volunteers worked overtime for tots Jill K. Dion, Editor |
| A handful of volunteers did more than an elf's share of work just before Christmas when they helped ready this year's Toys for Tots collection for distribution. |
| Paul Geer, who organized this year's collection with fellow firefighter Jack Edmunds and a contingent of other firefighters, expected a big turnout of volunteers on a Wednesday before Christmas, when thousands of toys were scheduled for sorting. But only a handful showed up: Foran High School teacher Stephanie Plunkett and several members of the school's Interact Club. Looking at the small crew gathered at the Margaret Egan Center, Geer figured most of the work would have to wait until the following morning. There was a lot to do. The huge collection of board games and toys needed to be hauled from a storage closet at the Margaret Egan Center to a main auditorium. Tables had to be set up, and the toys had to be sorted and stacked. But there was only Plunkett, her daughter Molly, Interact Club members Dylan Leonard, Paige McIntyre and Sara Lombardi, club founder Dave Ullman, and a parent, Susanne McKeever, who showed up later, plus several firefighters. Geer wasn't worried, but he assumed a contingent of firefighters and other volunteers scheduled to arrive the next morning would have to do the lion's share of the work. He was wrong. In three hours, the small band of volunteers had the job done. McKeever credits Firefighter Jason Hall, one of four firefighters scheduled to take over the toy drive next year. She said he was determined to get the work done, and his enthusiasm was contagious. They started at 3 p.m. and by 6:30 p.m. tables stood stacked with toys and games, ready for Milford parents in need of gifts to select holiday gifts. "I was surprised," Geer said. "I thought for sure we'd never be able to get the job done." Stephanie Plunkett said her Interact Club members were ready to work and to work hard. "We were just very busy, like Santa," Plunkett said, the day after the massive job was completed. "I had thought at first that as a working mom and a teacher I just didn't have time for this. But it was the best time." She said the handful of club members worked very hard to sort and stack. "They're all very good students on top of it," she said. Geer said this year's Toys for Tots drive was a success. Fund-raising efforts netted the $30,000 needed to purchase the toys, and many toy donations came in, too. The Milford Firefighters Association distributes toys to about 400 local families each year, which amounts to about 900 children. The local program has been in place 42 years, started by retired firefighter Butch Torento. Geer and Edmunds have been running it for the past decade, and plan to turn it over next year to Hall, Jack Geary, Brian Colwell and Mike Geanaocopoylos. |