Residents Handcraft Wooden Toys for Local Charities

A Tradition of Creativity and Charity

Since 2014, Emerald Heights residents have been joining together during the holiday season to create and donate wooden toys to charities throughout western Washington.

This year, the 13-member Wooden Toys for Charity of Emerald Heights used saws, sanders, and other tools to create over 350 wonderful wooden toys. The group handcrafted puzzles, log trucks, race cars, zoo animal trains, blocks, villages, puppets and more. Bill Dumar, a former resident at Emerald Heights started the Wooden Toys for Charity group with a sincere passion to brighten the holidays for local children. After his passing, the group has dedicated the creative space to him by putting his name on the doors of the Woodwork Shop.

In the age of electronics and high-tech gadgets, the group enjoys giving the children handmade toys that allow their imagination to flourish. Powered only by imagination, children can actively enhance their cognitive development with wooden toys.

Residents Handcraft Wooden Toys for Charity

With the help of each volunteer, this annual program has produced increasing results year after year. In 2020, in spite of the workshop being closed for almost five months due to the pandemic, the Wooden Toys for Charity group made more than 350 toys for children and charity organizations in the area, including:

• Childhaven
• Seattle Children’s Hospital
• Seattle Union Gospel Mission
• Mary’s Place
• Ronald McDonald House
• The Forgotten Children’s Fund
• Fisher House at Joint Base Lewis-McChord

A Handcrafted and Rewarding Gift

Since the group began, the Wooden Toys for Charity group of Emerald Heights has donated 2,500 toys to children through various charities. The group spends time on the community project every year to give children something that they can enjoy, play with and share. The specially-made toys are donated to charities that place the gifts into the hands of children who may not receive toys during the holiday.

Overall, the residents say that it’s very rewarding to be able to give the local children in need, a special handcrafted gift.

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