Since 2014, Northwest EMS has been collecting toys for the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program. Working with 24 partner locations, including its EMS stations in Manheim and Elizabethtown, Northwest EMS collected toys from earlier this fall through December, when the donations were delivered to the Toys for Tots distribution warehouse.

"We delivered more than 60 boxes," said Lori Shenk, community outreach manager of Northwest EMS, noting that Toys for Tots will distribute the toys to 480 families through more than 50 churches, missions and shelters. She added that Toys for Tots was short toys, particularly in the 9 to 12 age group and that it needed to spend more than $57,000 to buy toys to fill that need. "In addition to the 60-plus boxes of toys Northwest EMS and our supporting partners collected, I was able to give them nearly $1,400 in checks and cash donations from the community," Shenk stated.

Starting a Toys for Tots drive was a natural fit for the station, Shenk remarked. "One of our focuses is to be a part of our communities and to interact with our communities," she shared. "We thought this was a great way to do that. We're all working together to support the people in our community." In addition to the toy drive, the station collects food for food banks in Elizabethtown and Manheim and supports Child Life teams at Penn State Health's Children's Hospital and Lancaster General Hospital's pediatric unit by collecting toys, books, games and other small items for children who are in the hospital.

For the toy drive, Shenk obtained boxes from Toys for Tots, distributed them throughout the communities served by the station and then collected the full boxes. "I also have a traveling box that I take to public events like the Santa 5K that was held in December in Manheim or to 1st Thursdays in Manheim," she said.

On Dec. 12, volunteers gathered at the station at 60 W. Colebrook St. in Manheim to pack the boxes of toys into ambulances and a bus from Pleasant View Communities to take to the distribution center. Shenk noted that she's always moved by the response from the community to the toy drive, even in the face of a pandemic.

"In 2020, we weren't sure what we'd see, but we saw the most generosity yet, and then in 2021, we exceeded all previous years again," she said. "This year has also been very successful. The generosity in this community is overwhelming."