Moose Lodge donates toys to Cape Fire Department
For the Cape Coral Fire Department, it’s always about giving, whether it be going into a burning building or making sure city kids have a great Christmas.
On Monday, it was about the latter as Cape Coral Fire Station No. 1 visited the Caloosahatchee Moose Lodge 2395 and the Women of the Moose 1984 to pick up the truckload of toys they collected during their annual toy pickup.
The piles of toys sat on a table of the Moose Lodge as the firefighters arrived at the appointed time.
Sherry Crawford, a member of the WOTM, said she and Jeff Holmes of the Moose started working with the CCFD about three years ago, though they had been collecting toys before that.
“My husband Richard and I have done this for seven years and it’s an enjoyment we can do for the Moose for the children,” Crawford said.
Joyce Bartlett, who was Crawford’s little helper (with the elf’s hat to prove it), went into the community to find toys, and nearly doubled their bounty from last year with a little ingenuity.
“One day she came and brought in Sloppy Joes and ham sandwiches. Anyone who came and donated a gift got a free lunch,” said Richard Crawford.
Along with the toys, they also raised about $300 in cash so they can buy more.
Ron Goodheart, chairman for the event, said this is what the Moose is about.
“It’s an awesome thing to do and it’s the right thing to do. We give them to the Fire Department so we know they’ll go to the right place,” Goodheart said.
Andrea Schuch, public education specialist and public information officer for the CCFD, said they have had collection boxes at all 10 fire stations, and the Moose kicked it up a notch.
“Looks like we’re going to have a lot of happy kids for the holidays. We have about five or six organizations who help us out,” Schuch said. “I’ve already started getting the toys picked out for the individual families and I still have lots to distribute. Everyone has been very generous this year. I wish I could be there when they open the presents.”
The CCFD works with several charities to get toys for the children and there are applications people and families can fill out to see if they are eligible to receive toys.
“The Cape Coral Caring Center picked up about 250 toys and St. Vincent’s DePaul picked up another 100, and that’s just two charities,” Schuch said. “There’s going to be about 1,000 kids getting toys and we have about 50 or 60 kids the CCFD is taking care of. It’s a great feeling.”