2,500 to 3K toys collected by Kiski, Leechburg residents for Stuff-A-Bus

The game Monopoly is still very much alive in Allegheny Township as well as anything to do with Star Wars.

The items are among toys that have been donated by Alle-Kiski Valley residents who outdid themselves again.

Roughly 2,500 to 3,000 toys were delivered Friday evening to Kiski Area North Primary School that had been collected from residents of the Kiski Area and Leechburg Area school districts and beyond.

More than 100 residents turned out to “Stuff-A-Bus” with holiday gifts, to visit with Santa and to make holiday place mats for senior residents in West Haven Manor in Allegheny Township.

Nathan Glass, 7, of Allegheny Township, colored his reindeer drawing for a place mat. Earlier, he went shopping with his mother to buy some Barbie and GI Joe dolls for the toy drive.

“I liked doing this,” he said as he munched on popcorn.

While volunteers have been collecting toys at a number of schools and other locations, others have been working to identify those in need.

Since October, Charity Butz, an Allegheny Township police officer stationed in the schools in the Kiski Area School District, has tapped school nurses, police and officials across the Alle-Kiski Valley searching for the needy.

She found a mixture of hardship.

Residents lost their jobs or work for low wages, while others are plagued with health problems or struggle with drug addiction.

“A lot of kids were put in situations they were not asked to be in,” Butz said.

Because police and teachers are on the frontline of seeing the lives of the less fortunate, it's no surprise that they are among the most enthusiastic volunteers.

Jodi King and Rochelle Bires, both fourth-grade teachers, are in their fifth year leading Kiski Area's Stuff-A-Bus gift campaign.

They exceeded their collection from last Christmas of 900 donated gifts.

This year, they wanted to focus on the older kids, ages 12 to 18.

“These are the toys hardest to get,” she said. “They're more expensive, and you're getting into electronics.”

But donors are starting to step up: One anonymous area family donated three Kindle Fire tablets with gift cards.

Others organizations chipped in, too: The Kevin Croney Foundation provided food and holiday T-shirts for Friday evening's event. The Westmoreland County juvenile probation program brought some young volunteers to earn community service by helping out with the toy drive.

Lee Schumaker, Allegheny Township's public safety director and a volunteer for the township's toy drive for seven years, summed up why the event appeals to him: “There's no administration cost. You donate a toy, and a kid gets a toy.”

Families will pick up their gifts at the Allegheny Township Police Department on Dec. 21. If families can't do that, the gifts will be delivered by police officers from the township, Washington Township, Gilpin, Vandergrift and others.

The gift program is coordinated by Alle-Kiski Kids, which includes people in the Leechburg Area and Kiski Area school districts. Its charitable work is administered by the Westmoreland Economic Development Initiative for Growth, known as WEDIG.

WEDIG is a regional economic-development collaborative between Penn State New Kensington and the communities of Allegheny Township, Arnold, Lower Burrell, New Kensington and Upper Burrell.

Mary Ann Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at at 724-226-4691 or mthomas@tribweb.com.