By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

The Thomas More Prep-Marian seventh- and eighth-grade classes delivered nearly 300 toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys For Tots campaign last week.

The students carried four huge cardboard boxes filled to the brim with stuffed animals, trucks and dolls from their classroom’s third floor to a Federated Auto Parts van waiting outside Tuesday afternoon.

Ryan Bickle of Federated Auto Parts  is a coordinator for the local toy drive.

He said high school students from TMP — without ever being asked —  had taken it upon themselves to collect toys for the campaign for the last three years. But this year, the project was passed to the seventh- and eighth-grade classes.

Teacher Carol Brull said the students were enthusiastic about the project from the start.

“I’m very proud of them,” she said.

TMP eighth-grader and class student council president Leanne Rack said the project was a “great” one to be involved in.

“I knew (Toys for Tots) helped the kids around the world and the community and that’s just a great feeling to know that kids who usually don’t get things for Christmas (will get) a present this year,” she said.

Classmate Emily Schulte agreed.

“Christmas is one of my  favorite holidays  so this project was really special … because you are giving kids toys and every little kid looks forward to that, so it was just a really good feeling,” Schulte said.

Bickle said this year’s goal is to collect 1,500 hundred toys for distribution in Ellis County and across western Kansas.

Federated Auto Parts has 73 drop-off locations across the region, including six in Hays, and  will be collecting toys through Dec. 8.

Federated will also collect monetary or toy donations at the Frost Fest Parade on Dec. 6.

Bickle said monetary donations are used to buy gifts for older kids, as the organization tends to receive more toys donated for toddlers and elementary kids.

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