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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThough Darby is actively involved in the a cappella choir, National FFA Organization, Young Life, and is a member of the Greenwood Lady Gator golf team, she somehow found time to raise awareness for Toys for Tots. She promoted it at her high school and community events. Last fall, she hosted the first Taillights and Toys Car Show to benefit the toy drive. Through her dad\u2019s employer, Med Center Health, she and her dad secured a new community partner who welcomed the placement of approximately 40 Toys for Tots donation boxes inside Med Center Health\u2019s facilities. For the first time, families in Clinton County \u2014 close to 400 families \u2014 were able to receive gifts because of this partnership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bowling Green Housing Authority wasn\u2019t the only place where toys were distributed. Darby\u2019s mom, Kelly, said, \u201cOur main distribution took place on Saturday mornings in December when families that signed up for assistance came to the \u2018North Pole\u2019 at their assigned times to collect their toys.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toys for Tots volunteers distribute collection boxes beginning in October, so the community has time to donate, and volunteers have time to deliver items to the \u201cNorth Pole\u201d for sorting, packing, and distribution.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur Toys for Tots campaign currently serves 23 counties in Kentucky, and though we won\u2019t have the numbers for 2024 until after this article is printed, we served almost 20,000 children in 17 counties in 2023,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cAs a family, our goal is to remain as involved as possible in this wonderful program. Darby hopes to be reappointed as a youth ambassador each year until she ages out of the program at 18 years old. We hope to continue to enhance awareness about the program so that members of our community who need assistance can continue to be served. Darby also plans to continue bringing awareness with her annual car show in the fall, and she is currently working to host a first-ever golf scramble later this spring or this summer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to its website, in 2024, the national Toys for Tots organization distributed approximately 25 million items to more than 10 million children from newborn to 12 years old. This included over 300,000 children who are considered at risk, as well as over 200,000 children through its Native American program. It also distributed over 4 million books through their literacy program, along with distributing packets to families in Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico who were affected by recent natural disasters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Darby\u2019s dad, Chris, said, \u201cToys for Tots is a year-round program. During times of community need, such as the tornado of 2021, they provided items to children and families. Additionally, we have a nursing home campaign that we also run throughout the year in which we partner with 17 local nursing homes to provide items such as hygiene products, craft supplies, small gifts for bingo, and small items such as word searches, baby dolls, and coloring books.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris continued, \u201cEveryone benefits from this program. As a family, we have been able to bond and grow by serving others. Every volunteer has the benefit of helping those in need, and our community partners like Med Center Health get to help as well. Most importantly, the children who receive toys have a Christmas they might not otherwise have, and they get to experience the joy of the season.\u201d GN <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ON CHRISTMAS morning, sirens trilled, and horns blared as a host of flaming red fire and rescue trucks whirled into the Bowling Green Housing Authority, with an entourage of vehicles following behind. Instead of the traditional method for delivering Christmas presents \u2014 Santa\u2019s sleigh guided by Rudolph \u2014 dozens of firefighters from the Bowling Green […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":26330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/bowling-green\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/04\/7E7A2973-1024x683.jpg\")
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