Emerald Heights, a retirement community in Redmond, recently donated 624 handmade wooden toys to charities in King County.
The Wooden Toy Makers, a group of 12 Emerald Heights residents created in 2014, use saws, sanders, and other hand tools to create wooden cars, blocks, airplanes, tug boats, dinosaurs and other toys. In addition, a crafts group at Emerald Heights has been supporting the toymakers by creating cloth drawstring bags for each set of wooden blocks.
Dale Thompson, a resident at Emerald Heights, leads the Wooden Toy Makers group, along with Mary Miele of Canyon Creek Cabinet Company. Canyon Creek donates the wood to make the toys each year.
“We enjoy seeing our wood cut-offs repurposed into toys for children — five pallets worth so far — and look forward to donating additional wood materials to Wooden Toys for Charity in the future,” said John Earl, environmental manager at Canyon Creek.
According to an Emerald Heights press release, the group enjoys giving the children handmade toys in the age of electronics, as they allow children’s imagination to flourish. Powered only by imagination, children can actively enhance their cognitive development with wooden toys as opposed to electronic.
“I am a great fan of blocks because they require imagination to see them as spaceships, cows or books,” Thompson said. “And their batteries never go dead.”
The hand-crafted toys are also free of toxic chemicals, eco-friendly and durable.
With the help of each volunteer, this annual program produces increasing results year after year. Previously, the group donated 200 toys in one year, and had plans to create 400 this year, but significantly surpassed their goals.
Together, the Wooden Toy Makers made 624 toys for children and charities organizations in the area, including: Childhaven, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, Union Gospel and Mary’s Place.
Since the group began three years ago, the Wooden Toy Makers of Emerald Heights have donated more than 1,000 toys to children through various charities.
When asked about why the group decides to do this each year, Thompson said, “The children receive something that they can enjoy, play with and share. It is rewarding to give them that.”
