The American Legion is collecting toys for the children of service members who are in the Warriors in Transition program stationed at Fort Riley. These service members have been wounded, are ill, or are injured and are either transitioning back to normal military life or civilian life because they are no longer medically or physically qualified for military service. Many of them have their families with them and live in dormitories on base.
Because this “in-between” time can be stressful for everyone in the family, the toy drive aims to bring a little brightening to their holidays and show them they have the support of the community during this time. More than 1500 kids from 700 families will receive gifts from the drive, and the goal is to have two or three gifts for each child.
The organizers are requesting toys for kids from infant to age 18, and the price range should be about $15 to $20. The Legion will have a list of what the children have asked for and they will sort the donations based on that list. Cash in place of a gift is also acceptable and the Legion will use the money to buy gifts on the list that don’t show up as donations.
Toys will be collected from now until the Veterans Day Parade on November 5. If you’d like to give, you can drop off your donations at WaterWalk, 515 S. Main St., Suite 107, or bring them with you to the Veterans Day Parade, where JROTC cadets will be collecting donations.
