HUBER HEIGHTS — With Christmas nearly a week away, people across the Miami Valley are checking gifts off their lists.
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But for those who need some help this time of year, Toys for Tots is there to give them a boost.
News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis spoke with several families who were in Huber Heights picking up gifts this afternoon.
The distribution events for Toys for Tots in Montgomery and Greene Counties have wrapped up for the season. They expect to have helped 3,000 families.
Janeyia Brown has four kids, all under the age of ten, and was able to turn to Toys for Tots when she needed a little extra assistance.
“I work, it’s just hard to pay bills and buy toys too,” Brown said.
Melanie Mullins, who’s also a mom, feels the same as Brown.
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“We’re literally both working making minimum wage so it’s a struggle so you know just with the bills, any kind of help, any kind of help would be great and that’s why we signed up,” Mullins said.
For hours on Saturday, volunteers packed gifts into bags and loaded them into cars for the families who stopped by.
Toys for Tots means something to both gift recipients and the volunteers.
“It comes full circle because I’m from Dayton, Ohio and I actually was a person that benefitted from this as a kid to be able to grow up, be in the military for 13 years, come back and be a leader over this is an amazing thing,” Toys for Tots Local Coordinator for Greene and Montgomery Counties Xavier Montaie said.
Those who organize Toys for Tots know it can be tough for families in need this time of year.
“As a parent to be able to give your kids toys when you weren’t thinking you would be able to, I feel like is the best thing ever,” Montaie said.
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To volunteers, making Christmas extra bright for community members is worth it.
“I’m just grateful for the help,” Brown said.
“Praying for everyone that they have a wonderful Christmas, God’s good all the time,” Mullins said.
News Center 7 reported that at another Toys for Tots distribution, there were traffic and management issues, but today, things were under control.