10/15/2018
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Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2015 9:51 pm
By Christina R. Garza Staff Writer
Thousands of toys at the Brownsville Teen Center were loaded into trucks Thursday morning, destined for children across the Rio Grande Valley.
The BTC warehouse on East 14th Street was bustling with excitement as volunteers prepped boxes and bags for distribution for Christmas giveaways, including one special delivery for the Brownsville Police Department.
A total of 2,500 toys were donated to the police department’s Christmas toy giveaway, which is slated to take place Dec.19.
Executive Director Bob Clark and his wife, Mary, founded the organization in 1991. Eight years later, the BTC officially became a non-profit organization.
When asked how the volunteer based BTC is able to gather thousands of food, drinks, medicines and toys for the community, Mary extends her index finger and pointed above.
“We are a Christian organization, and we say that God provides,” Bob Clark said. “We don’t solicit anything. We wait for calls from three organizations, which are Children’s Hunger Fund, Feed the Children and Convoy of Hope.”
Volunteers are the heart of the organization and help prepare donations so that they can be distributed to those in need.
Volunteer warehouse supervisor Jessica Henry said 20,000 toys were donated by the Children’s Hunger Fund of San Antonio to be re-distributed among local organizations in Brownsville, including the police department, Communities in Schools, and local churches.
Brownsville Police Officer Carlos Camacho said that it was a great feeling to see the community participating in the toy drive.
“If it weren’t for outstanding citizens like Mr. Bob Clark, the toy giveaway wouldn’t be what it is, we give away thousands of toys in one day,” Camacho said.
As volunteers quickly piled bags of toys into the beds of two Brownsville Police Department pickup trucks — making them resemble Santa Claus’s sleigh, ready for delivery — Clark recalled a time when the police department donated toys to the BTC.
In 1999 until 2013, Clark began receiving toy donations from the police department in time for Christmas. Clark said he would pickup anywhere between 100 to 500 toys every year for almost 15 years.
According to Clark, the BTC donated 1,000 toys to the Brownsville Police Department’s toy giveaway over the past few years and was able to increase its donations to 2,500 toys this year.
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Thousands of toys at the Brownsville Teen Center were loaded into trucks Thursday morning, destined for children across the Rio Grande Valley.
