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ToyMakers on Fox13 News: “Made in Tampa Bay"
Fox 13 News in Tampa aired a special feature on ToyMakers of East Lake highlighting the joy that our toys bring to sick and needy children in Tampa Bay. The 36 step process for making toys was shown along with the satisfaction volunteers receive from bringing smiles to thousands of kids one toy at a time. You can see the video below by clicking on the link. See the video here..
ToyMakers on Fox and Friends
Bob Helms and Thad Pollard joined Elisabeth Hasselbeck on Fox and Friends on Tuesday, December 2, to showcase the toys we build. Bob and Thad really enjoyed visiting Fox and Friends in New York City. You can see the video segments below by clicking on the links.
What kind of organization is The ToyMakers of East Lake?
ToyMakers of East Lake (ToyMakers) is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization located in Palm Harbor, Florida. Our mission statement: “Making smiles one toy at a time.” ToyMakers produce and donate brightly painted, hand-made wooden toys to sick and needy children in stressful environments. Most of our toys are delivered to the children we serve through agencies that come into direct contact with the recipients on a daily basis.
From the simple beginnings of the original ToyMakers group that started in Pasco County, Florida in 1982, approximately 500,000 toys have been donated to agencies in the local communities in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Alachua counties as well as special donations to children in need in remote countries around the world.
ToyMakers of East Lake is an outreach mission of East Lake United Methodist Church (ELUMC). We began operation in the third quarter of 2007 with 6 volunteers utilizing a shop building owned by ELUMC. Currently, the group includes over 300 volunteers who donate over 18,000 hours of their time last year. Deliveries are made quarterly to many local agencies including Johns Hopkins All Children’s Outpatient Care of East Lake, The Haven of RCS, Operation PAR, Tampa General Hospital Children’s Medical Center, Pasco-Hernando Early Learning Coalition, Ronald McDonald House, East Lake Fire & Rescue, Empath Partners in Care, and A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay. Additionally, toys have been shipped to the Midwest during floods, to Louisiana and Mississippi during the aftermath of hurricanes, to Mexico, Haiti, Cuba and the Caribbean with medical and health mission teams, and to Iraq and Afghanistan through military contacts.
It is a privilege to be able to offer some form of comfort to these children and their families in stressful times.