VOLUNTEERS MATCH TOYS, CHILDREN

A two-year-old girl hopes Santa will bring a rocking horse this Christmas. Dave Dunaway made sure she will get one.

Dunaway, a Toybox volunteer, picked out Christmas gifts for the toddler Saturday as volunteers worked to finish matching toys to children.

"She asked for a rocking horse," Dunaway explained as he snatched one of the last horses made by veterans at the Missouri Veterans Home.

He also picked a Lion King See 'N Say and a curly headed baby doll for the little girl, then tossed in some Duplo building blocks for the little girl.

Each of the 1,200 children who will receive toys through Toybox gets this personal attention. It takes more time, but volunteers say the effort pays off for the children whose wishes come true.

On Saturday afternoon, Jaycees spent 10 minutes hunting for Stretch Armstrong, when they discovered a little boy hoped Santa would bring one.

Jackie Ahrens, co-chairman of the Jaycees effort, said, "We knew we had just gotten a Stretch Armstrong in, but we couldn't find it."

After the 10-minute search, the stretchy action figure turned up and another child's Christmas wish was filled.

LaRae Leimer hunted through a selection of Barbie dolls because a little girl wanted Babysitter Skipper. Skipper and her tiny babies turned up at the bottom of the pile.

Ahrens said, "We try to give something that is close to what the child is hoping for."

Leimer added, "Sometimes we even fight over an item for the children on our list."

Toy donations have poured in over the past week, but gifts for girls and boys ages 9 through 12 still are needed.

Ahrens said the community has shown tremendous support for Toybox, a joint project of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian newspaper.

Retail stores, especially, have pitched in by offering discounts and helping order hard to find items.

"We had a store manager contact a friend because we needed big boy gloves," Ahrens said. "We got the gloves."

Volunteers are working through the weekend preparing for Tuesday's delivery to 400 needy Cape Girardeau families.

"Through the year you hear a lot of negative things," said Dunaway, as he started selecting toys for another child. "It's so neat to know so many people do care."

Ahrens also started on her next family. She picked up a stuffed white walrus with a stocking cap and gave it a hug before tucking it in the bag for a little girl.