Toys for Tots distributes toys to thousands at Clearview Mall
CENTER TWP — About 2,500 children will wake up to a toy under the tree this Christmas thanks to the efforts of the volunteers from Butler’s Toys for Tots program.
Hundreds of Butler County parents and children flocked to the Clearview Mall over a three-day period to pick out their presents from a huge selection set up for distribution.
Toys for Tots, a project of the United States Marine Corps, has maintained a presence in Butler County since 1983, according to Sam Zurzolo, a retired Marine Corps sergeant-major who was heavily involved in the program’s earliest years.
Today, the program is managed by state trooper Chad Krumpe and his stepmother, Machelle Krumpe, but Zurzolo was at the Clearview Mall watching events unfold on Thursday afternoon. He said the Toys for Tots program has changed extensively over the years.
“The process has gotten a lot better,” Zurzolo said. “Before, we used to put (the toys) in bags and didn't know what kinds of toys the kids were getting. But now, it's so well organized, and it's all computerized, and it’s advanced a long way.”
Families who were accepted by Toys for Tots were given options to come to the Clearview Mall and pick up their toys at a pre-arranged time.
“They have to register online anywhere from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, and then they receive a confirmation with a date and a time,” Machell Krumpe said. “They come in on their scheduled appointment and we get them taken care of.”
According to Chad Krumpe, Butler Toys for Tots is planning to supply 2,500 children with toys this holiday season, a higher number than usual. While Toys for Tots mainly collects through donation boxes set up around the county, the organizers did accept toy donations in-person at the distribution event.
Regardless of whether or not they receive enough toy donations for all the children who need a toy, Chad Krumpe guarantees every child who has been signed up this holiday season will receive one. If there aren’t enough toys in the donation pile, the organizers will simply purchase what they need.
“We get money donated to us throughout the year,” Machell Krumpe said. “We'll take the money that's been donated to us and go out and purchase items that we’re short on.”
The selection of gifts was targeted for children aged 5-15, but, according to Chad Krumpe, the majority were for the younger end of that scale.
A spare storefront in the Clearview Mall was used to store roughly 200 children’s-sized bicycles, which were donated to the cause from Al’s Bike Drive.
“We have a gentleman down in Gibsonia that does a bike drive all year long,” Machell Krumpe said. “He purchases bikes, and he separates the bikes between the Allegheny, Beaver, and Butler coordinators.”
This year, the annual drive collected a total of 583 bicycles.
