DETROIT LAKES — Families struggling to put a gift under the Christmas tree for their children can visit the Detroit Lakes Boys and Girls Club Friday, Dec. 16 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., as long as school is not canceled due to the weather, or Saturday, Dec. 17 between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., and pick out a toy and stocking stuffer.
Tami Skinner, the director of operations at the Boys and Girls Club of Detroit Lakes, said the event is free and open to the community. Gifts available span from infants to teenagers.
“Our hope is to get toys in the hands of people with no other option (to purchase a Christmas gift),” Skinner said.
The gift-giving opportunity was a team effort. The gifts were purchased by area shoppers at the Menards store along U.S. Highway 10, and the home improvement store donates them to the club. Skinner said the partnership between the two entities began a few years ago.
“I believe our first year was 2020,” she said, adding 1,064 gifts went out to families with each child receiving two gifts. “The response that year was overwhelming.”
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With some businesses closing during state-mandated shutdowns, the need for a little help “was met by a huge amount of generosity,” she said.
During that time, it was apparent there was a shortage of gifts for teenagers. The Detroit Lakes Jaycees stepped up to fundraise and purchase gifts to fill that need in 2021, when more than 600 gifts went to area children.
Kasey Fetzer, the community development vice president for the Detroit Lakes Jaycees, said the group held its own gift-giving event for kids for several years.
“We thought it was a good idea to team up because we are supporting the same community,” Fetzer said.
In addition to the 20 Menards carts overfilled with toys for the 2022 toy drive, Fetzer said about 100 dolls were donated to the Jaycees by the Wahpeton Marine Corps.
“They happened to have a large shipment in-house,” Fetzer said, adding the Jaycees gladly accepted the donation.
The Boys and Girls Club members picked up the toys from the Menards toy drive on Tuesday, Dec. 13. Having prior years of experience, the club brought its van with bins to collect the toys. The crew at Menards helped unload the carts into the bins, alongside the club members. The team effort took about a half hour, Menards General Manager Josh McGrath said.
“We want to thank the community for their donations,” he said. “We’ve had some pretty good years.”
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McGrath added the Menards team enjoys the toy drive, and the store has high member involvement when it comes to the cause.
Toys leftover at the club after the event are offered to the crisis center, Becker County Human Services and other agencies serving families in the Detroit Lakes area, Skinner said, adding, “Anything leftover is placed in storage and will be brought out next year.”
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