When Marlin Dorhout first handed out some small wooden toy cars to poor children during a visit to Nicaragua in 1999, the hobby woodworker had no idea his toys would become a flourishing industry. Dorhout was a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity on his visit to Nicaragua, but that early toy-giving gesture eventually grew into the Denver- based nonprofit group Toys for God's Kids.
"I had just intended it to be people just from our church," Dorhout said. "It's evolved into quite an organization."
Over 289 000 Wooden Cars and Counting
Toys for God's Kids has distributed over 289,000 wooden toy cars with the help of 50 volunteer toymakers in several workshops in Denver, Colorada and more than 100 other people on board across the U.S. The toys have found homes in more than 100 countries, from Haiti and Guatemala to Afghanistan, Kenya and China. The little cars also have ended up at the Ronald McDonald Houses and in a dozen metro area schools.
The distribution chain is unusual. Toys for God's Kids ships many cars. Church workers and American soldiers also personally deliver them. Anyone with a suitcase is invited to take a few dozen along on a trip. The toys are free for the giving.
"Kids need toys," Dorhout said. "For many of these kids, it's their only toy."
Gladys DeRidder stopped by the one of the workshops on Wednesday to pick up about 400 cars for her congregation, which will deliver them to their Bible school in Baja, Mexico, just south of Tijuana. She said children there live in houses made out of wooden pallets, rubber tires and garage doors.
"You should see the way these kids painstakingly paint their cars and put decals on them — oh, my goodness," DeRidder said. "It's wonderful."
"Any church, synagogue or congregation can call and ask for toys. Dorhout said the toymakers get as much benefit from the program as the children do. "It's great therapy for them."
Richard Swan, a parishioner with Church of the Risen Christ, has been traveling to Guatemala for years to sponsor children through the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging. He returned July 2 from his most recent trip, where his group handed out 300 cars.
"It's a joy to watch the smiles come over the children's faces," Swan said. "These kids have very little in the way of personal possessions. They play with rocks, sticks and ropes."
For more information on Toys For God's Kids, please visit their website.
Courtesy of the Denver Post.