A year ago on December 12th, crews in Huntingdon county were called to put out a fire at the Salvation Army Church.
It took more than 10 fire departments to put out the flames and the heavy smoke pouring out of the building.
The inside scorched and crews did their best salvage the toys that were donated for the annual Salvation Army Toy Drive. Now, they are waiting for the Salvation Army headquarters to approve the start of the bidding process for renovations.
Just days after, they continues their toy drive in another building.
“It was such a blessing like last year because the whole community came together and chipped in and made it a success,” said Auxiliary Captain Charity Bender.
Monday, they were at it again, working to make sure families have a Merry Christmas.
“We have about 130 families, but there’s over 300 children this year,” Bender said.
In their temporary home at the Huntingdon Fiberglass building for the second year, the Salvation Army is prepping to bring a Merry Christmas to local families in need. They’re getting a helping hand from locals, both individuals and businesses. They picked up the bulk of the toys last Friday.
“We brought everything here from like Wal-Mart and Peebles and the other business like the JC Blair Hospital,” Bender said, listing just a few of the businesses. “And there’s multiple people that adopted a family so they would either bring it to the building or they would call us and say, ‘Hey, this is ready to be picked up. You can go ahead and come and pick it up.'”
They still need help, and that isn’t just with the toys.
“We have about 80 to 100 slots still open for that to be able to stand kettles at Wal-Mart and or Peebles,” Bender said. “That money all stays in Huntingdon County. I mean we’re managing with what we got because that’s what you have to do. It’s just a blessing knowing everyone’s helping out.”
For more on how you can help, visit http://www.wpa.salvationarmy.org/WesternPennsylvania/huntingdon or call (814) 643-1430.
