Lexington firefighters are collecting thousands of Christmas presents for kids in the central Kentucky community. Some 900 families signed up to receive gifts for more than 2,000 kids ages 12 and under.
Toys can be dropped off at any Lexington Fire Department or delivered directly to the ‘North Pole’ through the program’s Amazon Wish List.
Chris Macfarlane is President of the Lexington Fraternal Order of Firefighters and runs the toy program. He said people can still help, even if they don’t want to add to their own holiday shopping list.
“You can donate straight money if you want to just let us use the money to buy toys. We will go shopping here in a few weeks to buy what we’re short on. So we can definitely use the money and the toys. But you can donate to all of our initiatives on that page. And again, it’s the lfdfof.org and it says donate at the top of the page,” said Macfarlane.
The goal is to give each child three toys, a book, a stuffed animal, a game and something to make art with. Macfarlane said so far, less than a quarter of the needed toys have been donated.
Macfarlane said the upcoming Chuck Williams Auction will help buy more toys.
“Chuck Williams was a firefighter who died in the line of duty. He worked for an auction company, that auction company vowed to do the auction for us for the rest of their lives. That auction is our main fundraiser for the toy program. So, whatever toys we don’t get donated, we have to buy. We use that money to buy the toys,” said Macfarlane.
The Chuck Williams Auction is open to the public and no registration is required. It starts with a firefighter chili competition and lunch. The event is on Sunday, December 11 at 3475 Blazer Parkway in Lexington. More information can be found at here.
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