Toy drive sure to bring thousands of smiles

Santa and Mrs. Claus dropped into Centennial Park in Uxbridge on the weekend to take a peek at how the Uxbridge Toy Drive was doing. Lots of helpers were on hand to help! Photo by John Cavers

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The annual Christmas toy drive in Uxbridge is now closed for donations and the real work of sorting and distributing the toys and games begins.

Andy Luukkonen of Body Fit gym said Tuesday all the toys donated to several drives around town - the Bruins, Canadian Tire, etc. - will be brought together and sorted before being delivered to the various agencies tasked with getting them into the hands (or stockings) of children of families in need. That includes organizations such as the Loaves and Fishes food bank.

Luukkonen said he expected the final number of games and toys donated will be around 50,000 items, a testimony to the generosity of Uxbridge residents. An example of that generosity showed itself in a local supermarket on the weekend when one shopper loaded what appeared to be about 20 plush teddy bears into her cart and not a single grocery item. Those bears were destined for the toy drive - and a smiling owner on Christmas morning.