{"id":3456,"date":"2012-12-18T12:20:19","date_gmt":"2012-12-18T17:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=3456"},"modified":"2012-12-18T12:35:07","modified_gmt":"2012-12-18T17:35:07","slug":"west-caln-twp-lobby-overflowing-with-toys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=3456","title":{"rendered":"West Caln Twp. lobby overflowing with toys"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police chief credits elves with success of annual holiday campaign<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/span><\/strong>, Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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West Caln Township Police Sgt. Christopher J. Fries (left) and Officer Adam D. Pozza rearrange some of the toys to ensure that there’s space to walk in the township lobby.<\/p><\/div>\n

When the child\u2019s screaming stopped, West Caln Township Police Chief Curt Martinez feared the worst:\u00a0 Hurricane Sandy had uprooted a mature tree, toppling it onto a ranch home on Cambridge Road.<\/p>\n

First on the scene, Martinez busted through a jammed front door and had to get down on his knees to find the family members in the wreckage. In the process, he formed a lasting bond with the 4-year-old girl who was trapped with her parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to get her out … she was in a back bedroom,\u201d Martinez said, adding that her parents were rescued a short time later. \u201cShe was talking to me the whole time; it was pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, even though the family is staying with relatives in another township, the girl will be part of a West Caln Christmas tradition organized by Martinez. Now in its fifth year, a \u201cToys for Tots\u201d campaign gets more people involved every year, he said.<\/p>\n

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A blue tarp still covers the roof collapsed by a mature tree that was uprooted on Cambridge Road in West Caln Township during Hurricane Sandy.<\/p><\/div>\n

The majority of the toys collected are given to the \u201cToys for Tots\u201d organization; however, Martinez always keeps a reserve. He said he works with the school district to determine whether any families with children are experiencing hardships \u2013 such as losing a home – that threaten to diminish their youngsters\u2019 holiday joy.<\/p>\n

This year about half a dozen families will be graced by Santa’s presence – he will arrive in a caravan of trucks from the Wagontown \u00a0and Martin’s Corner Fire Companies.\u00a0 The girl, presently living outside the township, will get a different visitor. \u201cI\u2019m taking care of her myself,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to put into words, but it was wonderful to have such a positive outcome \u2026 When I first saw the house, I was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez said the success of the \u201cToys for Tots\u201d drive could not happen without volunteer hours from numerous elves, including members of the Police Department and township employees. \u00a0Some of the assistants don\u2019t work in the building that houses the giant toy collection, he said.<\/p>\n

For example, Girl Scout Troop 41365 from Pope John Paul II Elementary School and Troop 4169 from Friendship Elementary School contributed their gift-wrapping talents on Tuesday. Martinez said other cadets and senior troops from the Greater Coatesville Area Girl Scouts would also lend a hand.<\/p>\n

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The tree in the West Caln Township building lobby is surrounded by “Toys for Tots.”<\/p><\/div>\n

For the past several years, one township couple served as the campaign\u2019s primary benefactor, hosting a massive $20-per-person dinner at their home the day before Thanksgiving and then orchestrating a whirlwind \u201cToys for Tots\u201d shopping spree on Black Friday.<\/p>\n

This past summer, the couple moved out of the township. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure we were going to be able to pull this off,\u201d said West Caln Sgt. Christopher J. Fries as he surveyed the township lobby, overstuffed with games and teddy bears.<\/p>\n

Martinez said he remained optimistic. \u00a0\u201cA lot of people really stepped up to make this happen,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Police chief credits elves with success of annual holiday campaign By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times When the child\u2019s screaming stopped, West Caln Township Police Chief Curt Martinez feared the worst:\u00a0 Hurricane Sandy had uprooted a mature tree, toppling it onto a ranch home on Cambridge Road. First on the scene, Martinez busted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,1],"tags":[1255,1168,1257,1256,1254,1258,1211],"class_list":["post-3456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","category-uncategorized","tag-toys-for-tots","tag-friendship-elementary-school","tag-greater-coatesville-area-girl-scouts","tag-pope-john-paul-ii-elementary-schoo","tag-wagontown-fire-company","tag-west-caln-sgt-christopher-j-fries","tag-west-caln-township-police-chief-curt-martinez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}