Originally published on VailDaily.
GYPSUM COLORADO —
Rebecca Kaspar of the Gypsum Stor-N-Lock Self Storage really can’t abide the thought that there are local children who won’t find a special gift waiting on Christmas morning.
For the past five years, she has done something about it.
Back in 2014, Kasper reached out to the staff of Eagle County Child Services to help facilitate her gift-giving goal. That’s how a program called Christmas Toys for Girls and Boys was born. Since that time, festively decorated collection boxes have become a familiar sight at local businesses and hundreds of local kids have had a Merry Christmas even when their families were experiencing hard times.
“Even if we were putting a toy under a tree for one child, it would be worth it,” said Kaspar. But the scope of the program is much, much larger.
“It’s kind of gotten to a point where it’s hard for me to ask how many kids we are helping. It’s hard to be comfortable when the fact is we have this much need here in this valley,” Kaspar said.
But even as she has been confronted with the valley’s need, she has been comforted by its generosity.
“I would never have envisioned this toy drive would turn out as well as it has,” she said. “I am so grateful for all the business support.”
Every year, Kaspar has found more businesses willing to put out Christmas Toys for Girls and Boys collection boxes. For 2019, drop-off points include:
The deadline for this year’s donations was 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16, and program organizers were able to match donations with local kids. All donations of new, unwrapped presents were welcomed. To learn more about the program, link through the Stor-N-Lock webpage.
THUMBNAIL: Stor-N-Lock Webpage
