The annual Perry Toy Drive is wrapping up this week, as volunteers help New Opportunities staff bag up presents for local families.

John and Linda Andorf have once again headed up the organization of the event, with around 275 kids expected to receive toys this year. Linda says they received a large amount of toys from people in the Perry area, with their contributions equalling about 60% of their supplies. They also received a great deal of help from the Perry Hy-Vee and Fareway stores, which both held round-up fundraisers recently that netted over $1,600. All monetary contributions went towards filling gaps in their toy stock, particularly for older kids.

John says everything was gathered at the end of last week and has been organized for distribution tomorrow. He also reminds people picking up toys that their location has changed from previous years, and he offers his appreciation to the new site. “The location this year, there’s been a change. We usually go through Crossroads Church to make our distribution center, and they’ve always been very helpful. This year they have some construction going on out there, so unfortunately they couldn’t help us out this year. So we thought about who else we might call upon, and we called upon the Perry Elks. They are most generous to help us out this year and saying we could use their Elks building, of course here in town, to use that as our distribution center.”

The Perry Toy Drive is open each year for kids ages 0-14, with applications available in the fall at New Opportunities. Every child receives 4-5 presents, and families can enter to win one of the big ticket items, such as bicycles, tablets, and a motorized rider.