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Vienna Wireless and the 2005 ARRL Toy Drive
Vienna Wireless Society collects toys for the 2005 ARRL Toy Drive.
November 21, 2005
Generous donations from Vienna Wireless Society members and assistance from club Secretary Ray Albers, K2HYD, yielded over 40 new toys to include in this year's ARRL Toy Drive for children affected by this year's hurricanes.
The ARRL asked for new, unwrapped toys suitable for boys and girls aged 1 to 14. Toys were collected at the club's November 18 meeting and shipped to the ARRL warehouse in Memphis Tennessee.
Click on the photos below for larger versions.
From the ARRL Letter dated November 18 2005:
==>ARRL 2005 HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE SHIFTS INTO HIGH GEAR
Toys are rolling in as generous radio amateurs and others across the country respond to the ARRL/The Salvation Army 2005 Holiday Toy Drive http://www.arrl.org/pio/toy. The League has partnered with The Salvation Army for this year's effort to bring some holiday cheer to children left homeless or displaced in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Things got very busy this week at the Memphis, Tennessee, collection site, where ARRL Delta Division Vice Director Henry Leggette, WD4Q, and more than a dozen volunteers are struggling to keep up with the influx of toys. One of the volunteer coordinators, Joe Lowenthal, WA4OVO, says November 16 was the busiest day yet.
"We received 24 boxes with 319 toys from 12 individuals and 5 clubs," he reported. "One individual sent 192 small toys." Shipments arriving the next day brought the toy total in the Memphis warehouse to more than 800.
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, says the toy donations will go a long way to brighten the holidays for youngsters still reeling from the devastating Gulf Coast storms. "I know we can't do everything, but it's something we can do as a small token of what Amateur Radio's all about and in appreciation of the troubles that people are going to be facing during the holiday season," Haynie said. "Our hearts go out to everyone displaced."
Lowenthal says Cascades Amateur Radio Society in Jackson, Michigan, participating in the Holiday Toy Drive for the first time, sent more than three dozen holiday gifts. Four boxes arrived recently from the volunteers at WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center. Youngsters at Swanson Elementary School in Palmer, Alaska, sent a selection of stuffed animals, many with personal notes or drawing for the recipients attached.
Hams in Louisiana, which took the brunt of Hurricane Katrina, have stepped up to the plate too, with a special toy collection at a recent hamfest. "We are certainly glad to help with this and hope we get a good turnout," said Louisiana Section Public Information Coordinator Dave Gore, W5DSG. "After seeing and working with the hurricane victims, this project really hits home."
Anticipating that activity will be even more hectic over the next few weeks, Leggette estimates he'll need 30 or more volunteers before the December 10 collection deadline. As for more toys, Leggette says to bring 'em on.
Send new unwrapped toys for boys and girls aged 1 to 14 to: ARRL Toy Drive/The Salvation Army, 1775 Moriah Woods Blvd--Suite 12, Memphis, TN 38117-7125. Include a QSL card or a card bearing your call sign.
Through its Jackson, Mississippi, facility, The Salvation Army will handle distribution of the toys in hurricane-affected coastal communities of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana where the need is greatest. Said Maj Sandra L. Defibaugh, general secretary of The Salvation Army's Gulf Area divisional headquarters: "We are thankful for the selfless spirit of giving and sharing demonstrated by the ham operators across the nation."
ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, says the Holiday Toy Drive provides an opportunity for those who wanted to help out in the response for hurricanes Katrina and Rita but were not able to. "Now there's a way for hams all over the country to fulfill that desire though the ARRL Toy Drive," he said.
Holiday Toy Drive national chairperson and country music artist Patty Loveless, KD4WUJ, joined forces with producer Richard Lubash, N1VXW, to develop radio and television public service announcements (PSAs) to promote the drive. These are available on the ARRL Web site http://www.arl.org/pio.
ARRL invites its members to send cash donations, if they prefer, to: ARRL Toy Drive, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
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