[You are receiving this email because you marked an interest in "Toys" on your Guild profile or because you volunteered to serve on our Guild Toy Committee]
Folks,
This is a quick message to keep all Guild volunteer toy builders up-to-date. Our Guild "Toys for Kids" program is alive and kicking in 2025! In past years volunteer Guild members have kindly built toys to donate to worthy Atlanta area charities over the November/December holiday season.
Recently, toys made by Guild members and associated volunteers have been donated for distribution by Scottish Rite Hospital, the Emmaus House in Atlanta, the Craddock Center near Ellijay, KARE for Kids in Dawsonville, and United Way. Prior to 2021, toys were typically made and assembled by members at special and/or monthly meetings. But due to Covid-19 meeting restrictions in 2021 and 2022, volunteers were asked to make toys at home. That is how we currently handle all toy builds. We hope our expanding Guild membership is large enough to continue building and donating toys for this November/December holiday season.
Our Guild website publishes a gallery of pictures and detailed plans for various toys. Toy plans range from simple to somewhat complex designs, providing an opportunity for woodworkers of all skill levels to participate in this very worthwhile effort. If desired, mentoring is available. Contact the Guild’s Toy Director (toys@wwgofga.com) for assistance. For a suggested list of toys to build, visit our website at https://wwgofga.com/toys to see a list of toys that volunteers built and delivered last year. You can see pictures of those toys (and many others) here: https://wwgofga.com/toy-gallery.
Most toys are designed to be built from shop scrap and off-cuts or from cheap 2x pine lumber. The Guild can supply (free of charge!) wheels and axles for those toys requiring them. (I will bring them to distribute at the November 13 Guild meeting). To avoid potential harm to a child who may choose to chew on a toy, do not apply any finish; also, use no coloring agent other than food-safe food coloring. To prevent a choking hazard, any loose parts must be larger than 1-1/4 inches in their shortest dimension. Finally, use only Titebond Original, Type II, or Type III glue because they are all verified to be non-toxic.
You are free to make and donate any number of toys - they don't all need to be the same type. You may find it easier to batch out a number of toys at the same time.
You may deliver finished toys to our November 13 Guild meeting, or drop them off at any of the following sites:
1. Sandy Springs Rockler
6690 Roswell Road - Suite 450 Sandy Springs, GA 30328-4908
404-460-1000
2. Kennesaw Rockler
425 Ernest W Barrett Parkway NW Suite 1120, Kennesaw, GA 30144
678-383-0087
3. Woodcraft of Atlanta
8560 Holcomb Bridge Rd., Suite 115, Alpharetta,GA 30022
770-587-3372
I will collect toys from all three drop-off sites over the next four weeks, and sort and box them. I plan to deliver them to our charities around the first week in December. If you have time to help me sort and box toys, or help me deliver them to our charities, please contact me.
If you would like to volunteer for future toy-building efforts or just wish to hear more about our Toy Program, please contact me.
Thank you in advance for all your toy building efforts !
--steve
Steve Sheppard
Toy Director
Woodworkers Guild of Georgia
ssheps@gmail.com
770-316-7160
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