VERNON, Conn. — The Vernon Fire Department was all hands-on deck Monday night for the 67th Annual Toys for Tikes event. They delivered donated toys to 400 children and their families.
"Honestly, I couldn’t lift it," said Carly Young about the bag of toys an cheer left on her doorstep by members of the Vernon fire department. The team of firefighters were going door-to-door with their own version of a red sleigh. "We’ve been missing a little bit of the spirit and it definitely brought us that burst that we needed right before Christmas comes."
The hundreds if not thousands of toys were being sorted inside the fire department garage. The abundance of donated toys filled three rooms.
"Every toy behind me came from a business or a family or a person who decided to drop off a toy or lots of toys for us," said Toy Coordinator Diane Carpenter.
The Vernon community has been donating since Thanksgiving. Their gracious efforts supported 190 families this holiday season.
"The response this year has been overwhelming and help from our community and especially what 2020 has been I think just means even more," said Lt. Cory LaFountaine.
Some of the families that received gifts were ones helped by the fire department before. They include those displaced by the fire at an apartment complex in the Rockville section of town Sunday morning. In good or bad times, the Vernon Fire Department will be there to help.