On Dec. 14, the Suncoast Woodcrafters Guild (SWG) presented the Sunshine Coast Community Services Society (SCCSS) with more than 150 handcrafted wooden toys and gifts that its membership built over the past year. These gifts will be distributed by SCCSS to families in need of a little extra holiday cheer this year.
Since its inception almost 20 years ago, the SWG has been building toys and other gifts to give to families and individuals that the SCCSS works with at Christmastime. This year, 30 members fashioned approximately 155 toys and gifts. For the first time, guild members with less experience or limited access to shop tools were able to participate by using what one member nicknamed the “Toy Factory,” a fully equipped personal workshop guided by experienced woodcrafters.
Materials to make the toys are purchased through grants from the Sunshine Coast Regional District, Heidelberg Materials, and Sunshine Coast Community Forest as well as members’ own private donations of materials and supplies.
“Our members always come through with a great selection of toys and gifts for children, teens, and parents. It’s been rewarding to see our membership getting a transfusion of enthusiastic younger woodworkers the past couple of years,” said Toys and Gifts Committee chair Dan Chercover.
Guild president George McKee commented, “I’m so impressed by the commitment of our members and the quality of the gifts they’ve produced. The participation by our membership this year was wonderful to see and I’m especially pleased that more members were able to participate through the Toy Factory.”
SCCSS Director of Program and Staff Development Denise Woodley said that she was amazed with the time and energy that goes into producing quality toys that will last a lifetime.
Executive Director Catherine Leach said how much she appreciated the community value of the work and that these were both “pieces of art and pieces of love.”
