'People were very generous this year': Anaconda Toys for Tots makes Christmas merry for many

The Smelter City is a giving community, and there are fewer clear signs of that than the annual Toys for Tots campaign, which Anaconda's Marine Corps League "Pvt. Mike" Detachment just wrapped up this weekend with its annual toy distribution at the Ancient Order of Hibernians Hall. 

While the exact totals for this year's toy collection weren't available as of press time today, Dave Fenchak, the longtime coordinator of Toys for Tots in Anaconda, said "people have been very generous this year" with their donations – and with their time. 

"We have more volunteers this year – I can't thank them enough," Fenchak said at Saturday's distribution. "I feel like an orchestra conductor – the volunteers are so good, I don't need to say what I need done, they do it." 

Fenchak was particularly grateful for the help of Anaconda Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center students and staff who helped provide much-needed muscle by helping to fill the orders. 

"Job Corps have been just awesome," he said. "A lot of the kids who help are ones who don't get to go home for Christmas, and some said that they remembered getting Toys for Tots as kids." 

People really go above and beyond for Toys for Tots. One volunteer, Marine Corps League member Michelle Lennon, said that when she attended a Toys for Tots training earlier this year it was "the most Marines I have ever seen in uniform."

Fenchak said that the operation was well-stocked, particularly for young teens, though they were able to handle all the age groups well. 

"Every year is different," he said. "We also provided toys for the AWARE school [the Lawrence P. Noonan Center for Excellence] and Discovery House." 

Founded 77 years ago, Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve to collect and distribute toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. All Toys for Tots donations provided locally stay in Anaconda. 

For more information, contact Fenchak at (406) 560-6442, go to Anaconda-MT.ToysForTots.org or visit the Anaconda Toys for Tots page on Facebook.