Just two weeks away from being canceled, Montgomery County’s Toys for Tots was gifted a warehouse free of charge this holiday season.
Elizabeth Scott, the Montgomery County coordinator for the Marines Corps Reserves’ Toys for Tots, told WTOP in September that they were unable to find a warehouse and that she was fearful the toy drive wouldn’t happen in December.
Scott reached out to a realtor Charisse Callender-Scott, who donated toys in the past and co-founded the ComuniBuild Foundation, for a last ditch effort to save the day.
“I feel like it’s Santa’s workshop and she’s Santa,” Callender-Scott said. “We are the elves out here in the community, helping spread joy.”
Thanks to Callender-Scott’s efforts, along with Lucas Glaeser from KLNB, they were able to secure the 9,000-sqaure-fot warehouse from Prasad Properties LLC for free.
“It’s a blessing all around and it can definitely set a standard for some positive things in the community,” Callender-Scott said.
Last year, 43,000 children in Montgomery County received gifts from Toys for Tots, and Scott believes that, due to the government job cuts earlier in the year and the ongoing government shutdown, the amount will be doubled in December.
Scott, who is in her 70s, has been a volunteer with Toys for Tots ever since they helped her children 60 years ago. She said her four living children, seven grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren, all help her with Toys for Tots, adding that it’s her way of paying back their kindness.
“Anyone out there can be in this spot of needing,” Scott said. “So let’s try to be more considerate and try to think about those that don’t have.”
Asked if it keeps her young at heart, Scott laughed and replied, “Even Santa Claus feels old sometimes.”