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Community, students made drive a success

| January 21, 2016 6:00 AM

The members of the Sandpoint Lions Club thank all the people who donated money, toys, or time that made our local 2015 Toys for Tots program a huge success. With all of the donations and the hard work by the members of our Club and the many volunteers from our wonderful community, we were able to make sure that:

• A total of 891 kids received great gifts at Christmas.

• Over 1,400 people in those families had a healthy holiday meal.

The Sandpoint Lions Club has run the local Toys for Tots program for over 50 years. The program provides free, new toys for children from needy families who reside in the Lake Pend Oreille School District. Plus, we provide a holiday food box that feeds their entire family.

During the holidays, many folks volunteered their time to help unload the food trucks, haul toys, pack food boxes, and work long hours to make this program a success. As always, our local U.S. Marine Corps veterans devoted a lot of time and effort to unload the food truck and carry toys and food out to recipients. Thanks to each and every one of our volunteers and veterans.

The Sandpoint Lions Club extends a very special “thank you” to the students at Sandpoint High School. Once again, the students picked Toys for Tots as their Moose Madness charity. They raised an amazing $9,500 for Toys for Tots this year. Our high school students are great!

During the 2015 fundraising efforts, we received money or new toys from many local companies, organizations, schools, and hundreds of individuals. We thank each of our contributors for your kind and generous donations. You made a big difference in the lives of lots of local kids and their families.

The Lions Club also wants to give special thanks to Caroline Lobsinger and the Bonner County Daily Bee. The daily coverage of our fundraising activities has been a key factor in making sure that Toys for Tots raises the money needed to pay for toys, gift certificates, and the holiday food boxes. Thank you, Caroline.

To all of our contributors and volunteers: you proved once again that we live with some of the best people in the whole USA! Thank you, from the Sandpoint Lions Club.

JUDY DABROWSKI

Sandpoint

Chairperson

Sandpoint Lions Club

2015 Toys for Tots