New Horizon Church in Durham planned to host the annual Triangle Toy Takeaway on November 14, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Families could choose toys without income qualifications or proof of need.
Registration, not a financial screening, was the step the listing put first. CBS17 reported that sign-ups were scheduled to open October 15 and that registered families would receive 10 shopping points.
Wrapping, Santa and a Six-Hour Window
Volunteers were expected to wrap gifts free of charge. The church also planned free childcare for children from birth through fifth grade, with crafts and a visit with Santa and his elves.
The published hours ran from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. That is a long morning to spend beside a toy table with a preschooler, and a short one if the wrapping is still undone at home. The listing put both the childcare and the free wrapping inside that same window.
A Different Tally in Greenville
The Great Toy Takeaway is a separate Greenville-area organization, and its numbers are not New Horizon's. WNCT reported that it began in 2014, when Bailey Bliven decided she wanted to donate toys to parents who needed Christmas gifts for their children. A volunteer recalled that Bailey was five when the effort started.
About 300 families were served that first year. Heading into the tenth year, the group expected the running total of families it had served to reach around 5,000. That figure adds up a decade of Greenville-area giveaways. It is not a count of who walked into the Durham church.
Sponsors and a List That Includes Teenagers
The Greenville drive sought donated toys, used or brand-new, for children from birth through 18. Organizers said the need for business sponsors was high.
Its main event was scheduled for December 16 and 17. A list running to 18 is a different problem than a table of early-childhood toys, and that was the span they asked sponsors and donors to cover.
