Greenwich Answers the Call for 'Toys for Tots'

Photos: The Toys for Tots drive at the Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Department Dec. 12, 2015; Lance Corporals Frank Downing and Brian Drury with Ronnie Staplefield and Jack Kriskey; the collected toys; Marine Sergeants Michael Rickaby and Jonathan Echavarria with Tommy Powers. Credit: Barbara Heins.

In the movie ‘Jaws’ there’s the infamous line “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Well, on Saturday, it looked as though the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves were “gonna need a bigger truck” for the annual Toys for Tots drive at the Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Department. During the first hour of accepting donations, generous Greenwich residents and businesses had donated enough toys to fill one garage bay of the Post Road firehouse.

“This looks like it’s the best ever,” said Jack Kriskey who, with his wife Ronnie Staplefield, has organized the annual Christmas toy drive since 2001. Kriskey said the toys collected in Cos Cob and at the Banksville Community Center on the backcountry Greenwich border will be given to local families identified by the Greenwich Department of Social Services and to Kids in Crisis, the state’s only 24-hour children’s shelter that’s in Cos Cob.

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Children and parents dropped off the unwrapped toys and had the opportunity to explore the oversized Marine truck and Greenwich Police vehicles. And members of the Greenwich Police Explorers Post also were on hand to help collect donations.

Tommy Powers said “It was awesome” that he was able to try on Marine vest and helmet and pose with Marine Sergeants Michael Rickaby and Jonathan Echavarria. For Halloween, he dressed as a Marine and said that he wants to be a Marine.

Staplefield said the morning of Greenwich generosity also included the donation of food and beverages for volunteers and the Marines from Chicken Joe’s, located across the street from the firehouse.

While there was a flurry of activity in front of the firehouse for the toy drive, volunteers were preparing for Saturday evening’s fourth annual Winter Fest in the rear of the firehouse that was to feature rides with Santa aboard a vintage fire truck, the tree lighting and caroling by the choirs of the Cos Cob and North Mianus schools.

Shortly after noon, Greenwich Police Motorcycle Officer Daniel Hendrie led a police escort for the toy-laden truck along Route 1 to the Stamford border. At the city limits, Stamford Police picked up the escort duties to lead the Marines to their toy depot in Stamford where the gifts would be sorted and distributed to the local service agencies.

“This is pretty cool. The guys in the warehouse will be really happy about this,” Lance Cpl. Brian Drury said. “It means more kids will have the opportunity to get gifts for Christmas.”