Presents break record

LAKEWOOD RANCH — After a golf outing one day, Rick Shaw and more than 20 other men were sitting around at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club when manager Wayne Piazza approached them about helping with the club’s annual Toys for Tots toy drive.

Shaw didn’t think twice.

“Some people can remember everything about their childhood; I cannot,” Shaw said. “My clear memories are sitting around as a family at Christmas and the joy of anticipating of getting something to play with and spend time with as a child. I think that’s a big deal. The real meaning of Christmas is different, but it’s also part of it — the spirit of giving.”

Shaw and his fellow members collected more than $15,000 worth of toys, including more than 150 bicycles, each with a helmet and lock.

“It’s just grown every year,” Piazza said, adding last year’s drive raised about $10,000 worth of donations. “The members set their own bar. When they walk in and see the toys in the foyer, they smile.”

Shaw said the cause resonates with him because children, in particular, have no control over their circumstances.

“I was one of many who jumped in,” Shaw said, adding the club makes it easy by allowing members to purchase gifts or to donate money toward gifts on their monthly tab. “It’s a generous group of people out there.”

Mike McClain, coordinator for Manatee County Toys for Tots, said the organization last year collected about 50,000 toys for more than 600 families. He said this year’s drive will serve more than 1,000 families.
McClain said Lakewood Ranch’s drive has been tremendous.

“I have no other organization that’s come close to donating that amount,” he said.

But, he added, every toy drive is important for fulfilling Toys for Tots’ mission.

“They’re our only source of getting toys in the community,” he said. “We have collection boxes all over town to help and then there are these campaigns, where we’re able to get large amounts of toys.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].