If you have any doubts about the generosity of the Kewanee community, Amber Patch Troxell can set you straight.
Thanks to donations from many residents and businesses in Kewanee, Patchy’s Red, White & Blue Christmas Toy Drive was able to provide Christmas presents for 867 local kids this year.
That was possible, Troxell said, because the Kewanee community is “very, very generous. We would not be able to do this without them.”
The toy drive started in 2009 in memory of Troxell’s brother, Schuyler Patch, who was killed while serving in Afghanistan.
“It seems like yesterday” that she started the campaign to make Christmas brighter for Kewanee kids who otherwise might have had no presents, Troxell said.
The fund-raising campaign provides toys for children who live in the Kewanee and Wethersfield school districts.
It’s done on the honor system; families don’t have to show proof of need to pick up the toys for their children.
The toys were distributed on two days last month at the Salvation Army facility on Tremont Street.
The number of children receiving toys from the Patchy’s campaign has remained steady for the past few years.
In addition to contributions from Kewanee residents, a number of local businesses made significant donations to the toy drive.
Save-A-Lot contributed the proceeds of a “round up” campaign, where shoppers could round up their purchase to the next dollar and the difference would be donated.
Blissful Branch Boutique donated money raised from sales of special bracelets created for the campaign. Donations also came in from Johnson’s Hub, and Blooms by Heartfelt, as well as some anonymous donors. Wiebler’s Harley-Davidson held a fundraiser and donated $3,500 along with toys.
Troxell also singled out Nancy Sutton’s real estate agency, and the employees at Walmart in Kewanee for their contributions to the toy drive.
