A number of Guild members volunteer to participate in this community service
program by making a variety of wooden toys that are distributed to children in
local area hospitals. Approximately 2000 toys are donated each year, wit
h
over 25,000 toys distributed since the inception of the program in 1994 to the
end of 2007. Typical
toys include cars made from 2-by-4 lumber, holiday symbols such as Valentines
Day hearts and St. Patrick's Day shamrocks, and simple cutouts such as rabbits, dinosaurs,
and flowers. Toys are left unfinished for children to complete and
paint. Patterns and supplies are provided to Guild members making
toys. Guild members are enthusiastic about this program, and the toys they
make are very much appreciated, as may be seen from the thank-you letters
received by the Guild. At right is a car made by a guild member and
painted by a hospitalized child.
At the August 2006 meeting, Steve Briner was presented the second annual Woody Award for being the top toymaker of the year. Last year, Steve won the first annual Woody. Steve made more toys in 2005 than any of the other club members. Presentation of the award was made by Toy Committee Chair, John Patton. The "Woody" carving was made by Bob Colegate.
This year a special service award was presented to John Patton for not only coming up with the idea for the Toy Program as it currently is structured, but also for running it for eleven years. The photo at the left shows John Patton (left) presenting Steve Briner with the Woody Award as Steve is presenting John with a Service Award for his work with the Toy Program.
As a special
aspect of the program, John's wife Helen, his daughter Sue, and granddaughter
Crystal attended the meeting to honor John. Crystal is the one giving John
a kiss. John developed the idea for the Toy Program as another of his
granddaughters, Mandy, spent the first year of her life in a children's
hospital. Unfortunately Mandy was unable to attend because of "Meet the
Teacher Night" at her school.
Steve now joins John in co-chairing the Toy Committee. Call John at 314.843.0616 or Steve at 636.939.6860 if you are interested in participating or send an e-mail to .