Firefighters will be back helping the toy drives for the Cottonwood Toys for Tots program on Saturday, Nov. 22, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Walmart on Rodeo Drive.
Troy Hoke, division chief of operations for the Cottonwood Fire Department, started volunteering for the Cottonwood Toys for Tots campaign in 2014.
Krys Vogler, the organizer for the program, began the program in 2004 after she moved to Cottonwood the year prior. Vogler said she organizes the program throughout the entire Verde Valley, including Camp Verde, Rimrock, Cornville and Lake Montezuma.
She said she used to organize Sedona’s as well but a separate Toys for Tots program started there about 10 years ago.
Hoke’s wife became acquainted with the Voglers and told them Hoke was with the fire department.
“I think one night, they just stumbled across needing some help, and they gave me a call,” Hoke said. “I showed up and helped him and then I think a friendship was forged through that. And I just said, ‘Hey, I would love for us to be involved at the fire department,’ and that’s kind of what started it all.”
Hoke described their help as a lot of the “heavy lifting.”
“They do a toy drive, we’ll usually go and we assist them with that. And then during the packaging time, or whatever, when they usually need help putting the toys in the bags for the age groups, we’ll help them sort, move boxes around, get ready for that.,” Hoke said.
Toys for Tots, was originally started by Maj. Bill Hendricks of the Marine Corps Reserves in 1947, shortly after World War II. Since then, the Marine Corps Reserve and Marine Corps League have still been involved.
“My whole family’s been military,” Vogler said. “My husband and my oldest son are Marines, and I’ve got two granddaughters that are also in the Marines. They’re both helicopter pilots.”
Vogler, being so connected with the Marines and Toys for Tots, decided to start her own toy drives and organization. She lived in Flagstaff and did toy drives all over Northern Arizona as far as the Havasupai Reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
“When I first started [in Cottonwood], it was very difficult, because people in this area had no idea what Toys for Tots was all about, and so trying to get donations and people involved was extremely difficult,” Vogler said. “And as the years grew and they saw what we were doing, now it’s almost everyone knows what Toys for Tots is all about, and more businesses are supporting us … we have toy boxes all over and the money donations, we’ve made it easy for people to go out to our website and donate through the website by their debit card or credit card.”
She said none of the volunteers or people working the events get paid through the donations.
The Cottonwood Toys for Tots website states 97% of the money donated goes directly to providing toys to children. Another 2.3% goes to fundraising and the last 0.6% goes to business operations.
“We run out of a lot of toys, sometimes for different ages and genders, and at the last minute, we have to go shopping,” Vogler said. “Walmart’s been real good; They’ve been giving us a 10% discount on our purchases.”
Visit cottonwoodaz.toysfortots.org to make donations online.
“Any money goes into our account and we only can use our debit cards, purchasing cards, so that the foundation can see exactly where our money is being spent, and they have tight control of our accounts,” Vogler said.
The last day to donate for this year’s drives is Monday, Dec. 1, with the toy boxes being picked up by Friday, Dec. 5.
“So far, this year has been going very well. We’ve had a number of new businesses that have called us for boxes. Other ones have called and asked us for more boxes,” Vogler said.
Firefighters who are volunteering throughout its Saturday shift of the toy drive, were heavily involved the first few years, fell back a bit recently and are looking forward to being more involved.
“It’s been a few years,” Hoke said. “They really kind of relocated some things, and we haven’t really been involved too much here for the past couple years, but hopefully we get back into it. I would love for the department to be back into a big [role]. It’s something that’s near and dear to me.”
Hoke said building a strong community is important to him; he coaches girls basketball at Mingus Union High School.
Toys and Tots is a great way to give back, he said, as well as showing up in their capacity as firefighters and hopefully making a lasting impact on children’s lives.
“Hopefully Toys for Tots is a successful program this year because it does serve the community very well,” Hoke said. “I’ve seen the numbers grow from what it served, from my time I started till now. So it’s definitely, I think, a strong need in our community, as well as providing Christmas cheers.”
The American Legion Bikers Toys for Tots fundraiser took place on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1 and 2.
Camp Verde Locations
- American Legion Post No. 93
- Camp Verde Ace Hardware
- Camp Verde Feeds
- Camp Verde School District Bus Barn
- Cliff Castle Casino
- CVS
- Distant Drums RV Resort
- Jones Ford Verde Valley
- Distant Drums RV Park
- Tire Pro
- Udderly Divine
- Verde Rand RV Resort
Cottonwood Locations
- 360 Automotive
- Acme Pizzeria
- Agave Highlands Golf Course
- American Legion Post No. 25
- Bananas in Old Town
- Big “O” Tires
- Carla’s Dog Grooming
- City of Cottonwood Recreational center
- Columbia Self-Storage
- Cottonwood Fire Department
- Cottonwood Police Department
- Dollar General
- Elevated Touch Barbershop
- Footwork’s
- Graham’s Integrity Auto Sales
- Lawler’s Construction
- Lux Verde Hotel
- Mingus Union High School
- Naughty Hamburgers/Main Stage
- National Bank of Arizona
- On-The-Greens
- POP-UP Market
- Red Desert Flooring
- The Krow Sports Bar & Grill
- Verde Valley Fire District
- Walgreen’s
- White Horse
- Wood-fired Grill
Clarkdale Locations
- Martin Marietta Ready-Mix
- Park Hotel & Smelter Town Brewery
- 10-12 Lounge
Cornville Locations
Cove Mesa Vineyards
