Toys for Tots under way in Gallup, Grants

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Children who do not normally get a Christmas gift will be on the receiving end next month as the Toys for Tots campaigns in Gallup and Grants are now under way.

Gallup Police Officer Kelvin Akeson and Grants resident Raymond Savedra are this year’s coordinators for the campaigns in their respective communities. The Gallup program is being conducted through the Gallup Police Department while Grants’ program is through the local Elks Lodge.

Toys for Tots has been around since its inception in 1947, Savedra said. Each year more than 1,000 coordinators nationwide solicit their communities, large and small, to donate toys for children whose families do not have the means to give them toys for Christmas.

In Grants, the Elks Lodge is helping Savedra by donating their lodge’s hall for a poker run on Dec. 9, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., followed by a barbecue and raffle to generate additional money to buy toys, Savedra said.

Last year 60 motorcyclists and car owners participated in the poker run and bought raffle tickets for such items as TVs, stereos and warm adult size jackets from local companies like C&E Concrete, Savedra said.

The barbecue will be free to those who participated in the poker run and will include hamburgers and soft drinks, he said.

At a Christmas party Dec. 20, at the Elks Lodge, Savedra will give out presents to children whose names have been provided to him by area schools, the local foster child program, churches and other service organizations.

Families will have to complete an application, in both Gallup and Grants, in order to be eligible to receive the toys. In Gallup the applications are available through the police department at 451 S. Boardman.

Akeson said a date, time and location for toy distribution in Gallup has not been determined yet. A toy drive will also be conducted in Gallup, but details on that drive are not yet finalized either.

“We are putting out Toys for Tots donation boxes throughout Grants and Milan now and through the end of the week,” Savedra said. Akeson said donation boxes in Gallup should be distributed by next week.

In Grants the boxes will be placed at Smith’s the chamber of commerce, Milan Supermart, the local car dealerships, police, sheriff and fire departments, Dollar General, Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree stores.

In Gallup, donation boxes will be at Corley’s, Gurley’s, Amigo and Rico car dealerships, Safeway, several banks, Wal-Mart and KB Toys, Akeson said.

To donate: Savedra in Grants, (505) 287-9201 or Akeson in Gallup, at the police department at (505) 863-9365.