By Mike Donahue
Moapa Valley Progress
The Toys for Tots office headquartered in Moapa Valley got an unexpected Christmas surprise last Friday when Jeremiah Wood, manager of the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Mesquite, donated $1,450 in gift certificates to the agency.
Wood said the money to purchase the certificates came from Wal-Mart customers who were asked as they checked out of the store if they were interested in donating something to Toys for Tots. The response was terrific and the $1,450 was raised in just 10 days.
“This is absolutely wonderful,” said Myrtle Kellar, local Toys for Tots coordinator. “I certainly wasn’t expecting this type of windfall this close to Christmas. We have almost 20 families in Moapa Valley and Mesquite who will benefit from the donation this year and if there’s anything left over we’ll put it in the account for next year. This was a complete surprise.”
Toys for Tots toy donation bins had been in front of the store for some time as in other Southern Nevada locations but they were getting little attention.
“I looked in one of the bins and there were only one or two items inside although they had been in place for a couple of weeks,” Wood said. “I realized we had to do something different.”
Although the idea to ask for a cash donation to Toys for Tots was Wood’s idea, he credits his staff and Wal-Mart customers for the wonderful response.
“My sales associates jumped right on it” he said. “We really just asked the customers if they wanted to donate and they opened up their wallets. Some donated $1, some much more. One person donated $20.
“The reason this program was so successful was not because of the store but because of the generosity of our customers,” he said. “It’s often easier to donate a dollar or something rather than buy an individual toy.”
Wood, who moved to Mesquite in July with this wife Rachel and three kids, Deja, 12, Chance 8 and new baby Kaylee, to take over the management of the Southern Nevada store said the money donated to Toys for Tots exemplifies the kind of people he’s met in this area.
“What I really like about the Mesquite area is this is the best group of customers I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about a lot of negative things other Wal-Mart stores are concerned about.”
Wood said Mesquite seems to be rebounding somewhat from the recession, showing some growth, and he believes the donation to Toys for Tots is just a demonstration of that.
Toys for Tots had an almost instant use for the donation.
“We’ll use Wal-Mart’s donation to buy things for older children,” Kellar said. “I can immediately think of 11 families in Moapa Valley and four in Mesquite that are going to benefit from this. This is absolutely wonderful.”
