A heart immersed in charity sometimes spills over to others, and the result is pretty amazing.
Traci Keagle has created “something magical” for area children, a Santa’s Toy Shop filled with toys, cocoa, music, books and candy. Keagle calls it a celebration of the many blessings the community shares.
This is the second year Keagle has sponsored the toy shop.
After Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast last year, Keagle thought about the children without toys for Christmas. It may seem superfluous, but she thought no child should be without a toy for the holiday season.
“I wanted to make sure all of those kids got toys,” she said.
Keagle contacted people through Facebook to gather toys for those affected in the New York City area. Her husband, Willy, a truck driver, filled his entire trailer with gifts for New Yorkers — and then some.
The Keagles then decided to use the leftover toys for local children, with Willy dressed as Santa Claus.
“Overnight, there were 100 people who wanted a visit from Santa,” Keagle said. “Then it got really crazy.”
Keagle used the former Audacious Boutique location on South Jefferson as the shop, with permission by David Toland, owner. The event attracted more than 1,000 people.
ON MONDAY afternoon, Keagle was hard at work in Annie’s Attic, arranging toys for this year’s toy shop.
Brenda Miller, former owner of Annie’s Attic, recently sold the space to Toland, who again gave permission to Keagle for the event. She already has more people signed up than last year to help out.
“I thought, ‘how could I not do this thing,’” Keagle said after last year’s success. People have been donating their toys throughout the year, Keagle said. She has washed each toy to make them presentable. Donald Leapheart let Keagle use his laundromat free of charge to wash all the toys.
“All of these toys look new or better than new,” she said, while sitting among the plush stuffed animals and dolls. She will be bringing back all of the magic from last year’s toy shop, with one addition — a new Santa suit.
“I’ve always said I wouldn’t ask someone to do something that I wouldn’t do, and every year I asked my husband to put on that Santa suit,” she said. “It was gross.”
